Tag Archive - Jesus

Can Jesus and Santa get along?

December 13, 2011 in Christmas, Santa Claus with 1 Comment

This past weekend I participated in a Christmas ritual that many parents struggle with: a visit with Santa Claus.

Why the struggle? For some parents, Christmas and Santa Claus go together like white and red striping on candy canes. You cannot separate the two. Santa is everywhere and just about every culture. For others, Christmas and Santa are a clashing pair like fruitcake and tofu. Many Christians lament telling the myth of Santa Claus to their children because they believe it sends the wrong message of Christmas: The holiday is about getting presents from a jolly fat guy and not the celebration of Christ’s birth.

At the same time, parents do not want to be a Grinch about Santa. Nobody likes that kid in school going around telling everyone that Santa isn’t real. Parents are then confronted with the reality of explaining how and why Santa is not real. Either parents go with the flow of Santa or become Santa haters.

Is there a better way to involve Santa Claus into the Christmas mythos? Can Santa Claus can be taught from a Christian perspective? Can we work Santa into Christmas without tearing out the hearts of little children?

Today, we can thank the Dutch for Santa Claus. The Dutch celebrate Christmas with Sinterklaas (also, Black Peter, but that is a whole other mess) who teaches children about giving, generosity, and service.  He even looks like Santa. Sinterklaas then morphed into Santa Claus when English peoples adopted him for their own celebrations. Once English speaking peoples adopted Sinterklaas as Santa Claus, he became a commercialized icon.

The figure of Sinterklaas was a Dutch effort to honor a fourth century saint name Nicholas, who is highly revered in Eastern Christianity. The historical figure, Saint Nicholas, was a bishop of Myra. Several stories exist about Nicholas, but the most prevalent features Nicholas giving gold or money to poor children. One story tells of Nicholas giving money to three poor daughters who were destined to live in poverty without a dowry (pictured right). Some attribute the hanging of stockings on Christmas to Nicholas because another story tells of Nicholas putting money in poor children’s socks.

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The End is Here (again)

October 21, 2011 in end of the world, Rapture with 3 Comments

We remember the hype and hysteria around Harold Camping and his end of the world prediction that came and went. I first blogged on the topic back in March 2011when no one was really worrying about it. Well, he’s back!  Now, the end of the world will be this Friday – October 21!  According to the Family Radio Worldwide teacher radio nut, Camping believes that the end started in May and will conclude this month.

Though a “spiritual rapture” occurred at the apparent the end of the world back in May, this time Camping is for real.  The end will not go out with a bang, but with a whimper.  Camping said:

“We’re getting very near the very end. Next Friday looks like, at this point … it will be the final end of everything.”

“There won’t be earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other natural disasters.

“The end is going to come very, very quietly.”

I think we’ll see Camping “flabbergasted” again with another apocalypse fall out. If you are depressed about the end of the world, read my ‘End of the World Guide: 37 Things You Should Before the End‘ to cheer you up.

You have to hand it to Camping, he learned his lesson about being definitive about the end.  He added “probably” to his prediction. Last time, he explained what happened:

“What really happened this past May 21st? What really happened is that God accomplished exactly what He wanted to happen. That was to warn the whole world that on May 21 God’s salvation program would be finished on that day. For the next five months, except for the elect (the true believers), the whole world is under God’s final judgment.”

At 90, Camping is still causing an international news story. Pretty good!  When I’m 90, I just hope I can get to the bathroom in time.

Man calls Obama the 'Anti-Christ' during speech

September 28, 2011 in Obama with 2 Comments

Is it me, or are hecklers become more common or just more reported? This week, President Obama was called the “Anti-Christ” as a protester shouted directly to Obama from the front row of a fundraiser speech. Here is what we can make out from the video:

“The Christian God is one and only true living God! The creator of heaven and the universe! Jesus Christ is God! Jesus Christ is God! Jesus Christ is still our God! Jesus Christ is still God! You are the Antichrist!”

President Obama listened the man and was concerned about his jacket. Obama agreed some of the heckler’s claims:

Jesus Christ is Lord. I agree with that.

 

In thinking about the possibility of Obama being the Anti-Christ, Paul’s words to the believers in Corinth come to mind. Paul wrote:

2 You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. 3 Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:2-3)

According to Paul, one who says, “Jesus is Lord” can only do so by God.

Reverse Offering as a Spiritual Stimulus

September 26, 2011 in Churches with 0 Comments

Almost every church has some form of an offering or a way for people to give donations. Most churches pass offering plates to congregants while music plays or a soloist sings.  A church in New Jersey is trying a new approach to the offering: a reverse offering where congregants receive money from the church instead of giving.

CNN reports on a  Morristown, New Jersey  nondenominational church that collects $30,000 in weekly offerings from three church locations. About 2,000 people  its services and plans to give about that same amount – $30,000 . Attendees receive envelopes containing $10, $20 and $50 bills.

The idea of this reverse offering came from the church’s pastor Tim Lucas of the Liquid Church:

People are cynical about religion and expect to come to church and be shaken down, but really, it’s all God’s money. Every bill in the U.S. economy says ‘In God we trust,’ and we’re going to put that to the test. We’re not a rich church. We don’t own a building. We don’t hold a mortgage, but we’re trying to teach our people to be rich in good deeds.

This ‘spiritual stimulus’ package is geared  to encourage people to use the money to help others.  New Jersey experienced crippling flooding recently because of Hurricane Irene.  Also, the church encourages people to invest their funds and then donate the proceeds to the church to rebuild a homeless shelter.

What would you do with a reverse collection? How would you spend the money?

How Not to be an Internet Jerk

September 13, 2011 in jerks with 0 Comments

I’m sure you have found yourself on the other end of an internet conversation with a fanatical Christian… debating abortion, government intervention, homosexuality, and other hot topics. Or, you have tried to convince your friends of their woeful ways over Facebook.  Either way, the results are not pretty.

Anyone can fall into the trap of being a  jerk on the internet: forcibly offending others, name calling, passive aggressiveness, espousing incorrect statistics from questionable secondary sources, using ALL CAPS, posting embarrassing high school pictures, and just bad behavior.  It seems Christians can, at times, be the worst offenders.  At some point in our online experience everyone has been a jerk in one way or another.

Recently, Jon Acuff, a Wall Street Journal best-selling author, wrote an article for RELEVANT magazine (apparently deemed a “hipster-Christian” publication) about his experiences with jerkiness:

When RELEVANT asked me to write this article, I originally wanted to title it, “How to Be a Jerk on the Internet.” I felt like that article would be easier for me to write because I’ve got much more experience at being a jerk than I have at not being one—ask people who went to college with me. They’ll tell you. I was a jerk online before online even existed. (That last sentence was like Inception; I was a jerk within a jerk within a jerk.)

Acuff goes on to name five ways people (Christians) can be a jerk on Twitter and pretending .  Perhaps my fav is the “Jesus juke”:

Debbie Downer

Debbie Downer

A Jesus Juke is an idea I came up with to describe the moment when you’re having a normal conversation and someone jukes in some Jesus out of nowhere. For example, I once tweeted that I was at the Conan O’Brien live tour and it was sold out. Someone responded, “If we held a concert for Jesus and gave away free tickets, no one would come.” Sad trumpet, whaaa, waaaa. A Jesus Juke is the Christian version of the Debbie Downer moment.

I’m not sure if the “Jesus juke” qualifies as jerk behavior.  That’s called being lame.

Anyway, jerks and Christians jerks take note.

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Jesus, not Bieber, most 'Liked' recently

September 6, 2011 in Facebook with 0 Comments

"Like" me, my son.

Apparent, Jesus is getting into the Facebook scene… and, he’s well liked. After using Facebook to push his diet products,  Aaron Tabor, a doctor created a Facebook page called, Jesus Daily.  He started the page in April 2009 as a hobby.  Now, over 8 million people have ‘liked’ Jesus’ page.  The New York Times reports:

For the last three months, more people have “Liked,” commented and shared content on the Jesus Daily than on any other Facebook page, including Justin Bieber’s page, according to a weekly analysis by AllFacebook.com, an industry blog. “I wanted to provide people with encouragement,” said Dr. Tabor, who keeps his diet business on a separate Facebook page. “And I thought I would give it a news spin by calling it daily.”

And…

More than 43 million people on Facebook are fans of at least one page categorized as religious.

Read about Tabor and his religious upbringing.

A Bunch of (un)virtuous Monks

August 9, 2011 in front, new, sub1, Unvirtuous Abbey with 0 Comments

Church and religion doesn’t have to be stuffy and boring.  Several monks prove that.  Enter the Unvirtuous Abbey.  A bunch of monks give us everything regrettable about Christianity, culture, people, and Facebook but make us laugh at it… in a good way.  The Unvirtuous Abbey ministers to people from their Facebook and Twitter page with funny and some serious tweets and updates. Some proclaim them virtuous and others unvirtuous. I took some time to sit down with these humorous monks to see what makes them tick. You be the judge:

You monks have some very funny and very serious prayers on Twitter and Facebook. Where do you receive inspiration?

What’s become evident is how many people have been hurt by religion/church. We wondered, “What if there were unapologetic monks who actually stood up to religious bullies? And what if we threw in a bit of ‘snark’ just to make it fun and interesting?”

Humour has incredible power. Religion has the capacity to be hurtful, and many people have used it was a weapon.  It’s fun mashing up cultural references with Jesus. Of course Jesus didn’t have a magic sword, but it’s interesting to put him in that scenario:

Jesus held aloft his magic sword and said, “By the power of Grayskull!” And they spake unto one another, saying, “He has the power.”

The truth is, he does.

Your prayers mention WiFi, beer, fanny packs, Harry Potter, tattoos, and Joel Osteen. Is this what makes the monks “unvirtuous”?
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Mark Driscoll's (non)Ministry of Social Media

July 11, 2011 in Mark Driscoll with 9 Comments

If you never heard of Pastor Mark Driscoll then maybe you should. His church, Mars Hill Church in Seattle has over 6,000 members in just 11 years. Driscoll is often described as a maverick in the ministry and has one the most innovative churches in the country. TIME magazine was interested in this pastor’s ministry and has featured him in a few articles.

Recently, the mega church pastor caught fire from Christians with this Facebook update:

This comment clearly takes a shot a certain type of person in the ministry.  Not only that, the undertones of a comment like this do nothing to advance the kingdom of God. If you are shocked by this comment, as am I, do not think this is the first time Driscoll said something like this.  Many in the Christian community have a hard time with Driscoll’s “tough guy” persona and some question his ability to lead.

The New York Times wrote about Driscoll’s ministry and his tenancy to “male-ize” his ministry:
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A Taste of My Own Pastoral Medicine

June 16, 2011 in Pastoral with 4 Comments

As I write this blog post I’m traveling on a plane heading to 37,000 feet and living in fear. I wonder when I will become dizzy, experience vertigo, pass out, lose my breakfast, or if my head is going to explode. Gross, I know. I have never been a woozy air traveler, but everything just changed.

After waking up one morning last week with maddening ringing in my head and unable to hear in one ear, I found myself sitting in a doctor’s office. “Well, we don’t know what you have but we have some good ideas. We need to run some more tests. Until then, I would not recommend loud places or air travel.” My doctor said.

Gulp. “I have to fly next week and I’m leaving the country the week after that.” I said. The doctor rolled his eyes and asked, “Do you have to fly?”

As I sat and listened to the extended directions on medications, tests, dangers of flying, and theories into sensory hearing loss from my physician, I could not help but think of the sermon I just preached to my congregation:

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Why 9 in 10 Believe in God but not Church

June 9, 2011 in change, Churches with 3 Comments

Many in the religious right have been running for the hills because this “godless” nation is become too secular.  The rhetoric of our nation’s direction is flawed by the growth of atheists and secularists is over played.  It seems a recent Gallup study confirmed what has simply is unknown to many: We are still a religious nation.  More than 9 in 10 Americans still say “yes” when asked the basic question “Do you believe in God?” Perhaps even more encouraging is that 84% of 18-29 year-old segment and 94% of 30-49 year-old segment answered in the affirmative.

An this is not a statistical bump, but historically, since 1943, the vast majority of Americans believe in “God”.

It would seem that we are still a religious nation, but obviously church leaders want to know how many of those 90 plus percent are Christian. Logically, many ask the question, “If we are such a God-believing country, then why is church attendance so low?”

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