Tag Archive - Jesus

Why You Should Listen to Brad Pitt on Christianity

May 19, 2011 in Brad Pitt with 1 Comment

In a recent Q & A for his upcoming film, The Tree of Life, Brad Pitt said:

“I grew up with Christianity, and I remember questioning greatly some things that didn’t work for me, [and] some things did…I grew up being told that God’s gonna take care of everything and it doesn’t always work out that way, and when it doesn’t work out that way, then it’s God’s will. I got my issues man, don’t even get me started…I got my issues… Many people find religion to be something inspiring. . . . I myself find it very stifling as an individual.”

Clearly, this preaching/teaching that Brad Pitt received was way off base. If his perception of Christianity is about “God’s gonna take care of everything” then his church, parents, and pastor failed him. Has anyone listened to his issues? Or, have people just preach “at” him?

Is this why Christianity is failing people? Is the wrong message being communicated? Does no one want to listen? No one wants to listen to other people’s struggles?

If Brad Pitt has issues with this type of Christianity, then I do too.

Continue Reading…

Who invented God? Rowan Williams knows

May 11, 2011 in God with 1 Comment

… was the question a little six-year-old asked, but no one seemed to have an answer. Her father, Alex Renton (an atheist), was shocked that his daughter’s Scottish school would make the class answer the question. The girl, Lulu, looked to her father for an answer to the question.  He replied that they didn’t believe in God, but her father still wanted a religious answer for his daughter.

The dad wrote the Scottish Episcopal Church and the Presbyterians.  They didn’t reply. The Scottish Catholics wrote a long and complex answer.

Seeking more answers, he also sent a letter to the head of the Anglican Communion, who happens to be Rowan Williams (the same Rowan Williams who officiate the recent royal wedding). Rowan Williams replied:

Continue Reading…

Prayer for Good Friday

April 22, 2011 in Good Friday, Holy Week with 1 Comment

O Christ, your life was no triumph, you carried a cross; may we walk along the same road as you.

O Christ, by your suffering you learned faithfulness; you became a source of eternal salvation for the whole human race.

O Christ, when threatened you did not retaliate; enable us to forgive to the very end.

O Christ, you see the pain of those who are exiled and abandoned; take their suffering upon yourself.

O Christ, when lies and worries try to separate us from you, your Holy Spirit is always with us.

O Christ, you are the happiness of those who follow you: enable us to live by your trust.

O Christ, our life is hidden with you in God; that is a joy that touches the depths of the soul.

Strengthen us, Eternal God, and we will wait in silence and peace until the light of the Resurrection rises upon us. Amen.

Prayer from Taize

Prayer for Maundy Thursday

April 21, 2011 in Holy Week, Maundy Thursday with 1 Comment

Loving Provider,
you gather me in this upper room with your son,
to be fed by your love.
At that supper, Jesus told us to “love one another”
and I know that is the heart of his gift,
his sacrifice for me.
I ask that I might find the source of my own heart,
the meaning for my own life, in that Eucharist.
Guide me to the fullness of your love and life.
Amen.

Crazy "God Girl" Japan Video Trolling the Internet

March 16, 2011 in Japan, trolling with 0 Comments

If someone sends you a link to a video of a girl talking to the camera about how happy she is about the Japanese earthquake don’t worry… it’s fake. A young women named “tamtampamela” has been trolling the internet with fake personal testimonies about her crazy religious views on parody websites.  “It’s so amazing to see how God can answer prayers like this,” she said. “I’m so overjoyed.” Somehow, people thought it was real.

If you are easily offended, don’t watch.

Here, she “explains” her fake videos:

Continue Reading…

A Prayer for Ash Wednesday

March 9, 2011 in Ash Wednesday, Lent with 0 Comments

Lord,
The house of my soul is narrow;
enlarge it that you may enter in.
It is ruinous, O repair it!
It displeases Your sight.
I confess it, I know.
But who shall cleanse it,
to whom shall I cry but to you?
Cleanse me from my secret faults,
O Lord, and spare Your servant from strange sins.

St. Augustine of Hippo – (354-430 CE)

Christians all around the world celebrate Ash Wednesday today. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, a period of 40 days (really 46 including Sundays) before Easter. It is a time of reflection upon our need for salvation, forgiveness, and the fundamental priorities of the Gospel.

It is customary for Christians to give something up for Lent. This act remembers Christ giving himself up and remembers his suffering. Many give up sweets, soda, or some type of rich food.  While giving something up for Lent is a simple way to remember what Lent is all about, is it time we Christians try something other than deprivation? Continue Reading…

What Satan Can Teach Us About Lent

March 7, 2011 in Lent with 3 Comments

Several years ago, I read a dramatic billboard sign that compelled the reader to think about Satan. The billboard read:

Do you believe in Satan? He believes in you.

A striking message, isn’t it? Many of us choose not to think too much about the forces of evil or how Satan plays a part in the Christian story. However, Satan is very much a part of the Christian story, but he is not an inspiring character. Since the beginning of the biblical record, Satan (in Hebrew hasatan means “accuser”) existed in various forms. The presence or mention of the demonic is documented in Genesis, Job, Psalms, Zechariah, the Gospels, and Revelation.

As a way to prepare for the celebration of Easter, Christians all around the world will prepare through the season of Lent. For 40 days (not including Sundays) Christians mark this time through study, prayer, fasting, reflection, worship, service, and meditation on God’s word. Lent provides a way for Christians to change the rhythm of their life by contemplating the less glamorous Christian imperatives such as forgiveness, morality, repentance, suffering, and penitence.

Believe it or not, Satan can teach us about Lent in the Christian life. How? Beginning in the book of Luke, Jesus departs for the wilderness in chapter 4 and confronts Satan, the Accuser: Continue Reading…

Let's Freak out about Rob Bell!

March 3, 2011 in Rob Bell with 7 Comments

Run for the hills! Rob Bell is heretical! Ahhhhh!!!

If you have not followed the story, famed pastor, speaker, author, and Nooma guru has a new book coming out entitled, Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived. A few chapters were released to a few bloggers and writers.

Those who have read the incomplete manuscript resolve that Rob Bell is a heretic  and his career is over. The claims have ranged from he is an Universalist or he is the devil.

Here is the video that is causing the stir

Let’s all freak out about Rob Bell!

Folks, Bell has always been on the edge of Christianity and that is a good thing.  More on that later. I have not read the book or seen the pre-released chapters, but let’s not jump to conclusions like some other big time Christian figures, authors, and pastors.  Check out their comments: Continue Reading…

Justin Bieber Says, 'Just Pray'

March 2, 2011 in Justin Bieber with 6 Comments

As tween pop culture singer Justin Bieber just celebrated his 17th birthday, he makes it clear that he is serious about his faith in Jesus Christ. Bieber’s new 3-D concert film/documentary “Justin Bieber: Never Say Never,” features the singer praying, speaking about his beliefs and speaking about his commitment to Jesus Christ.

Millions of Bieber fans might not know but he received his start from singing Christian songs on YouTube. His current songs feature religious messages such as his single “Pray,”:  “I close my eyes and pray. I close my eyes and I can see a better day.” The music video concludes with the word, “God speaks in the silence of the heart. Listening is the beginning of prayer.”

Young pop stars sharing their faith is nothing new. The Jonas Brothers certainly made their beliefs known in very public ways. I was surprised to see an interview with Bieber’s mother, Pattie Mallette who talked about guarding her son from the music world’s pitfalls. Continue Reading…

Christmas: Peace In the Midst of Chaos

December 23, 2010 in Advent with 0 Comments

Melissa was enjoying dinner with her husband and their three children at a restaurant recently—until the waiter disappeared for 20 minutes. Her husband, Tim, began muttering. Melissa braced herself. “Uh-oh, here it comes,” she remembers thinking.

“EXCUSE ME!” he screamed across the room to another waiter, then stormed off to complain to the manager. When the original server finally returned to the table, her husband yelled, “Where the hell have you been for the last 45 minutes?” and continued berating him until the man walked away.

Chaos ensued.

People at other tables stared. Melissa put her head down and a hand over her eyes. In the car on the way home, she told her husband, “You know I hate it when you do that. It ruins the dinner.”[1]

Who has not experience such an event? When you are enjoying a nice dinner and something sets someone off? All of sudden you go from peace to chaos in a matter of seconds.

Dealing with chaos during the holiday season is almost a fact of life. The family is trying to enjoy a nice dinner and Aunt Bettie complains about her divorce.  Uncle Bill is angry about his job.  Grandma is yelling about how her neighbors are stealing her trash!  Grandma, come on who is stealing your trash?

I’m sure scenes like this play out in your family sometimes.  Chaos in the midst of a well indented peaceful family dinner.  What is it about families that bring out the best and worst in us?  All of us have some sort of dysfunction in our families. All of us must have an embarrassing family scene we remember?

Continue Reading…

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