November 2005
Monthly Archive
Sat 19 Nov 2005
Posted by Brent under
Misc.[9] Comments
The other day, a friend sent me an e-mail reminding me of a quote from Charles Spurgeon out of his book Lectures to My Students. The context of him sending this particular quote is that I have been growing a beard for some time now. The quote:
“I am a firm believer, having never deviated from it (not covering his neck) for these fourteen years, and having before that time been frequently troubled with colds, but very seldom since. If you feel that you want something else, why, then grow your beards! A habit most natural, scriptural, manly, and beneficial.”
“A habit most natural, scriptural, manly and beneficial” indeed! This set me to thinking of the many theologians, past and present who have sported a beard and I began to wonder if maybe I’ve not tapped into some great mine of theological insight delivered through facial hair? OK, maybe not, but it was an excuse to post some theologians with beards:
Augustine of Hippo remains a central figure, both within Christianity and in the history of Western thought.
Herman Bavnick, Professor of Systematic Theology at the Free University of Amsterdam and prominent Dutch Reformed theologian.
James P. Boyce, first president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and prominent Baptist theologian in the Reformed tradition.
John Calvin, often referred to as the “theologian” of the Protestant Reformation.
B.H. Carroll, prominent Southern Baptist and a founding father of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
A.A. Hodge, prominent 19th century Reformed theologian.
John Knox, prominent figure of the Scottish Reformation and prominent figure of the Presbyterian Church.
Francis Schaeffer, Christian theologian, philosopher and founder of the L’Abri community in Switzerland.
Charles Spurgeon, “Prince of Preachers.”
Brent Thomas, guy with a beard.
Geerhardus Vos, prominent Princeton theologian and an important figure in popularizing the Redemptive Historical Hermeneutic.
B.B. Warfield, a contemporary of Vos, another important Princeton theologian and prominent figure in Reformed thinking.
Bruce Ware, prominent opponent of Open Theism and Associate Dean of the School of Theology at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Waste some time with Come Waste Some Time With Me (1)
Waste some time with Come Waste Some Time With Me (2)
Waste some time with Come Waste Some Time With Me (3)
Read Lectures To My Students by Charles Spurgeon.
Read One Thousand Beards by Allan Peterkin.
Read Beards, Beards, Beards by Helen Bunkin.
Read The World Beard and Moustache Championships book.
Read the Wikipedia entry on beards.
Visit the All About Beards website.
Sat 19 Nov 2005
Posted by Brent under
Misc.No Comments Fri 18 Nov 2005
Posted by Brent under
Misc.No Comments
Yes, it’s that time of the year; time to rewind, review and reevaluate. For several years now, some friends and I have compiled year-end lists. Since I have a blog (but really, who doesn’t?) this year, I want to open it up for submissions to any and all who might be interested. So, as I stop taking submissions today for the “Flawless Five,” I’d like to start taking suggestions for the best that 2005 had to offer.
The guidelines are simple:
- Please follow the guidelines.
- Please submit responses only for the listed categories.
- Please try to include a short paragraph (at least a sentence or two) on why you made each selection. This makes for a much more interesting read than just your list, as interesting as that may be.
- Please have all submissions returned to me (by e-mail) no later than: Friday, December 23, 2005.
- Please include a small JPEG photo of yourself if possible, or a link to one if online.
- Please include your name, city and state of residence.
- Please e-mail your list to me at kpita@yahoo.com.
- Please pass this on and get as many people as you can to participate!
And now, on to the categories! Please submit responses for as many categories as you’d like. For example, if you really don’t watch many movies, then don’t feel pressed to include selections for that category. Again, please try to include a short descriptive bit as to why you made the selection you did; give us some insight as to why you think this is the year’s best.
The Categories (In no particular order):
Music:
- Album of the Year - Must have been released in 2005, may be from any genre.
- Music “Find of the Year” - Something that you “discovered” during 2005, may have been released any time, but you first heard it this year.
- Song of the Year - Again, must have been released during 2005.
- Back Catalogue of the Year - What artist did you discover this year and investigated further?
- Artist/Performer of the Year - What artist has impressed you the most during 2005?
- Misc. music thoughts for 2005.
Movies:
- Movie of the Year - Must have been released in 2005.
- Movie “Find of the Year” - Released any time, but you first saw it in 2005.
- Actor/Actress of the Year - Who has particularly impressed you this year?
- Misc. movie thoughts for 2005.
Reading:
- Book of the Year - Must have been released in 2005 in any genre.
- Book “Find of the Year” - released any time, but you first read it in 2005.
- Author of the Year - What author has made a particular impression on you or just made a huge impact in 2005 and why?
- Misc. reading thoughts for 2005.
Pop Culture:
- Person of the Year - You decide the criteria (most influence, etc.)
- Pop Culture Moment Or Trend of the Year - What will 2005 be remembered for?
- Misc. cultural thoughts for 2005?
Faith:
- What theological Truth has particularly “hit home” for you this past year?
- What have you been meditating on throughout the year?
- Misc. faith thoughts for 2005?
Misc.:
- This is where you can include anything you think I should have.
Please e-mail submissions to me at kpita@yahoo.com by Friday, December 23, 2005.
Fri 18 Nov 2005
Posted by Brent under
Culture[5] Comments
Yes, we’ve discussed Bono previously. Yes, I think U2 is a great but somewhat overrated band. And yes, we’re going to talk about Bono again. A few weeks ago, dinner conversation revolved around the idea of “Christian bands” as opposed to those who claim to be “Christians in a band,” and whether or not that is even a valid distinction to make; what is the separation of sacred and secular in music, etc. A friend made the statement that no one is a better model for how to publicly merge Christianity performance better than Bono, singer for U2.
Bono certainly openly claims to be a Christian. Not only that, he’s one of the few (if not the only) performer I’ve ever read openly discuss his faith in the pages of Rolling Stone. Not only does he not portray his faith as a simply private matter, he has at times very explicitly stated that Christ is the only way to salvation, presenting a clear Christ-centered Gospel message in the pages of secular media for millions to read. These are things no other person at his level is saying or doing.
Bono is probably the only performer at that level of fame continually and openly weaving his faith into his lyrics. Who else at this level of fame is singing “Take this shirt, Polyester white trash made in nowhere, Take this shirt and make it clean, clean. Take this soul, Stranded in some skin and bones, Take this soul and make it sing. Yahweh. Yahweh. Always pain before a child is born. Yahweh. Yahweh, Still I’m waiting for the dawn.” Bono closes this song, simply entitled Yahweh with the lines “Take this city, A city should be shining on a hill. Take this city if it be Your will. What no man can own, no man can take. Take this heart, take this heart, take this heart and make it break.” These are things no other rock star is saying or would want to say.
Not only that, Bono calls himself and all of us to live a “feet with faith” if you will. In other words, he makes us face the fact that it is not enough to claim faith with our mouths if our feet are not moving in the direction of service. Though I’m not convinced that debt relief is the wisest strategy, he has certainly taken it upon himself to be the voice of the poor and neglected. He is calling high-level leaders across the world to account for their neglect of the African AIDS crisis, to admit to high-level debt-relief for the world’s poorest nations and calling for equal justice for all. Again, these are things that simply no one else at his level are doing or saying.
Does Bono have problems, and even problems with his professed faith? Absolutely. He openly curses like a sailor, admits to occasionally drinking too much and publicly struggles with issues of pride. At which point we (or at least I) want to say that his faith is not real, because if it were, he wouldn’t have those issues. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye (Matthew 7:3-5).
It’s easy for us to hold public figures up to standards which we ourselves don’t meet, and in fact, we often do so. Does Bono struggle? Yes, but he does so openly and also openly pleads the blood of Christ; not as an excuse for His sin, but as the only way out of it. Can I excuse his sin because he uses the right words? No, but can I also say that it means he is not a believer. When all is said and done, Bono does seem to be a good model as to how a Christian may openly be a Christian and maintain a position in the public eye. He has intentionally turned his fame as a rock star into international political clout and he has used it for the disenfranchised. I can certainly think of men who have lived out their professed faith much worse than this. Jimmy Carter, anyone?
If anything, it seems that we ought to sympathize with Bono. As he openly struggles with how to most effectively live out his faith in the situation he has found himself, the least that we can do is thank him for his honesty and walk alongside him.
Read the full Rolling Stone interview.
Read my previous post on Bono.
Read Bono: In Conversation with Michka Assayas.
Visit U2’s official website.
Visit the U2 lyrics archive.
Download I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For performed by Vanderbilt University’s Victory A Capella Co-ed Chamber Choir.
Thu 17 Nov 2005
Posted by Brent under
Blogging1 Comment
I’d like to be one of the first to welcome my good friend Wade to the world-wide blogosphere. Wade has been a great friend for many years, a roommate through college and responsible for some of the best, most Scripturally-literate Christian music you never heard as the songwriter for the Corbans. He’s also creating some terrific video edition with Narrow Road Media Creations. I’m sure that Wade’s new blog Ember Burning will be a must-read and will provide much stimulating discussion and thought.
Good to have you Wade!
Visit the Burning Ember blog.
Visit Narrow Road Media Creation’s website.
Buy Three by the Corbans.
Thu 17 Nov 2005
The Stop the ACLU blog reports that Michael Newdow, the atheist who sued to have the “one nation under God” clause removed from the Pledge of Allegiance, is now suing to have “In God We Trust” removed from the nation’s currency. In the article, Newdow is quoted as saying that the clause “violates the religious rights of atheists who belong to his “First Amendment Church of True Science.”
David Price over at Espresso Roast comments: “The ridiculous thing is that in this nation, one man (supported by an out-of-control activist court) can completely alter the landscape for a majority of people who both believe in God and desire to see this land maintained upon her Judeo-Christian foundation.” This is the common opinion among the Stop the ACLU crowd. However, the fact that Newdow is able to alter the landscape is the American Dream of individual assertion, isn’t it? Beyond that, I’m not convinced that we are in fact a “Judeo-Christian” nation, or that we ever were.
Opinion polls consistently report that 40% of Americans regularly attend church. 40%? Really? I simply don’t believe it. Neither did C. Kirk Hadaway and P.I. Marler who report: “Several years ago we teamed up with sociologist Mark Chaves to test the 40 percent figure for church attendance. Our initial study, based on attendance counts in Protestant churches in one Ohio county and Catholic churches in 18 dioceses, indicated a much lower rate of religious participation than the polls report. Instead of 40 percent of Protestants attending church, we found 20 percent. Instead of 50 percent of Catholics attending church, we found 28 percent. In other words, actual church attendance was about half the rate indicated by national public opinion polls.”
In fact, truth be told, the number of Evangelical Believers in America has not changed, and thus is actually becoming a smaller percentage of the overall American landscape. Barna states: “Despite the media frenzy surrounding the influence of evangelical Christians during the 2004 presidential election, the new study indicates that evangelicals remain just 7% of the adult population. That number has not changed since the Barna Group began measuring the size of the evangelical public in 1994.”
William Romanowski reports in his book Eyes Wide Open: Looking For God in Popular Culture that “over 80 percent of Americans believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God. But apparently they don’t read it. Only twenty percent of Americans have read the whole bible, 17 percent read it daily, and nearly 50 percent of those surveyed rarely or never read the Bible.” If that’s not enough, he adds that “Eighty-four percent of adults ‘could not even hazard a guess’” as to what the term “Great Commission” meant, “Sixty-three percent of the population had no clue what it refers to, and only half who said they were born again Christians knew it as a verse from the Bible addressing salvation.” I for one am simply not convinced that we are a Christian nation.
A further (and perhaps deeper) question is whether or not this ever was a “Judeo-Christian” nation. Would our Founding Fathers have meant the same thing by the phrase In God We Trust that we do? I doubt it since Deists certainly don’t define God as the God of the Bible and anyone who’s ever seen Jefferson’s Bible cannot with any sincerity accuse him of being a Believer. Yes, there may have been a prevailing “Judeo-Christian” ethic, but this, does not a “Christian” nation make.
Another issue that arises here truly is the question of “religious liberty” that we are so desperately claiming as a foundation for keeping references to God on the nation’s currency. It is certainly in the best interest of Christians in America to protect all “religious liberty.” But, are we doing so by parading our belief in God over those who do not share that belief, in a country that never defined it the way we do to begin with?
At the end of the day, does it really matter if we remove In God We Trust from our currency and don’t say Under God in our pledge of allegiance (should Christians pledge allegiance to a country anyways?)? Are we and have we been pretending that America is something that it never really was in the first place? Does it really affect our personal faith if we admit that this is a primarily secular society? I’m not so sure it does matter. We’ve allowed patriotism to become associated with Christianity and now, many can no longer separate the two.
In fact, there is the reapossibilityty that if we allow such empty terms to be removed from the shell of patriotism that the true Christians in America will actually awake from their complacency and engage the culture, live their faith and voice the Gospel! What would happen if we removed the thin veil of pretend “Christianity” from our country? Perhaps the sheep truly would be separated from the goats?
I absolutely believe that the idea of the “separation of church and state” has been misinterpreted, misunderstood and misapplied. However, that does not mean that this is, or ever was a “Christian” nation (as current believers define it), or that we must officially acknowledge God and force all of our citizens to do so as well. Christians, above all ought to support freedom of religion, and we must alsacknowledgege that for some, this means exercising the right not to believe.
Read the original post from Stop the ACLU.
Read David Price’s comments.
Read Did You Really Go To Church This Week by C. Kirk Hadaway and P.I. Marler.
Read Religious Identification in the U.S. on religioustolerance.org.
Read the piece by the Barna Group.
Read Eyes Wide Open by William Romanowski.
Wed 16 Nov 2005
Posted by Brent under
BloggingNo Comments « Previous Page — Next Page »
The other day, a friend sent me an e-mail reminding me of a quote from Charles Spurgeon out of his book Lectures to My Students. The context of him sending this particular quote is that I have been growing a beard for some time now. The quote:
