¿Cómo Say What?

new blog

2009-01-07T23:33:00.000-06:00

check out http://www.comosaywhat.com

thats my new home!

2007-12-10T09:46:00.001-06:00

The Golden Compass opened Fri. I found this review to be interesting and pretty powerful.

http://kester.typepad.com/signs/2007/12/his-dark-materi.html

Outragous

2007-12-03T13:52:00.000-06:00

from http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=stevedsmallwood

http://smymonline.org/

"All Southern Missouri District ministers received this letter today from the District Office:

Dear Fellow Ministers;

We trust the blessings of God are greatly upon each of you during this special Holiday Season.

In our October presbyters meeting a motion prevailed that no Assemblies of God credentialed minister in our district will be allowed to attend a non-Assemblies of God Church unless they are given permission by the Presbytery Board.

It was also moved that the District write a letter to those ministers that have been brought to our attention who are attending a non-Assemblies of God Church indicating it will be necessary for them to receive District Presbytery approval for them to do so, or their credentials will be in jeopardy.

If you or some credentialed minister in your church falls into this category, please comply or encourage them to follow through with this action.

May God continue to bless you and your family as together we strive to enhance the Kingdom of God.

Sincerely,

Superintendent"

monism

2007-11-17T09:06:00.000-06:00

i am a monist thru and thru (in the anthropological sense).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monists#Christianity

what are you?

What the Cross Means for the Death Penalty

2007-11-13T11:52:00.000-06:00

recently there's been a lot of buzz about the supreme court hearing a case on the death penalty. i promised to write about how christians should approach capital punishment. and here it goes.

first let me say, i believe that these issues are germane to the church and that the church must address and engage the world on social issues. too often we and others impose a privatized religion on us. that is to say, god saves my soul, cleans me up, and puts me merrily on my way. i don't believe this to be the way of jesus. though personal transformation is important, it's only one aspect of christ's work. jesus addressed issues of injustice in the body politic, not just in one body. for more on these, see works by yoder, hauerwas, willimon, etc. as a primer, read "the politics of jesus" by john yoder.

i want to consider three factors in understanding OT theology and the christian response to our issue.

let's start at the old testament, which sets up the rule of lex talionis, eye of an eye. Exodus 21:23–27 is the most well known verse which people use to support the death penalty. what many people fail to understand is that this verse isn't an injunction to punish people, but it's designed to limit retribution. if someone pokes out my eye, my maximum retaliation is to poke out one of his eyes, not two. if someone kills my son, i can only kill his son, not his entire family. lex talionis is not descriptive on how one must be punished, but it prescribes the limits on revenge. understood this way, the old testament isn't mandating that a murderer must himself be murdered.

this doesnt gloss over the fact that the OT is full of examples of someone killing seemingly on behalf of god. but i dont think that anyone would argue for vigilantism today. despite all the other stories in the OT, we see one story that over arches the rest. this leads to our second point: this story of the exodus serves as the archetype for israelite history and as a paradigm for israelite future. the exodus is constantly in the minds of god and his children. any time the people waivered in faithfulness, wandered in apostasy, or ended up in exile, the prophets reminded them that god delivered them from egypt and can deliver them again if they repent. and remember how they exited egypt: according to the story, the israelites did nothing, god bought them out of bondage; he set them free. no israelite had to pull a sword or strike an egyptian. if god did it then, he can do it again.

finally, and perhaps most importantly, we must take into account progressive revelation. that is god has not revealed himself all at once throughout history. instead, as time progresses we have more and deeper insights into god and his ways. in fact, this culminates with the ultimate revelation of the cross. indeed, all of history, even the bible itself, is subject to god's revelation through jesus christ. so while we may see god allowing killing early in the OT, the evidence against capital punishment decreases as the story progresses. along with that, we must understand that the bible was written by many different people over many different years, and it will naturally reflect some mores and standards of those people.

Taking It Back: Why Celebrating Halloween is Okay

2007-10-25T10:05:00.000-05:00

I want to set the record straight about Halloween.

We, the church, are hesitant, even loathe to use "Halloween" because of the different connotations of the word. In pop culture, immediate images of oafish psychopaths, scantly clad teens running into a bloody chainsaw, demonized little girls with stringy hair and post-pubescent voices, and ghosts from the past talking through the radio. But these ideas are deviations from the true Christian meaning of Halloween. In this three part series, I want to engage the history of this "holy-day" and then propose how we can redeem it.

First, we come to the Romans. They observed "Feralia:" a day in February to honor the dead. Sacrifices were made and prayers offered up on the behalf of the dead. The early church baptized "Feralia" to honor saints of the church, or great people of faith who had died. The date for "All Saints Day" has moved around through the ages, but presently it's on November 1. Western Christianity, whose epicenter was Rome, had great influence throughout the known world, and naturally, so would it's holidays.

Meanwhile, the people of Britain were called the Celts. They were people who worshiped nature and its beauty. The Celts, like the Romans and Greeks, had a pantheon of gods, partly as an attempt to explain how the world worked. The Sun God was their source of life, and the Celts adored him as such. They also worshiped Samhain, (pronounce “sow-in,” i.e. "sow" like a female pig) who was god of the dead and, of course, the winter. They believed that on October 31, Samhain would call together all of the dead, and all creatures wandered the Earth that night. The Celts called this the "Vigil of Samhain." Additionally, October 31 meant the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter.

The Druids, who were the priests of the Celtic people, built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to commemorate the festival and honor the gods. At midnight on the 31^st, they stop worshiping the Sun God and started to worship Samhain, the ruler-god for the winter. This marked the start of the Celtic New Year. Celts performed ceremonies and dressing costumes like animals through the night to divine the future of the New Year.

After the Romans conquered the British Isles around the time of Christ, the two holidays of Feralia and Samhain merged together in Roman-Celtic territory. As Christianity spread throughout the Empire and up in Britain, the Church further attempted to replace the Celtic and Roman traditions with a similar, but decidedly, Christian celebration on November 1. Known in Middle English as "Alholowmesse," All Saints Day celebrated and commemorated saints of the Church who did not have a particular day associated with them. Further, the Church often "baptized" secular or pagan holidays and incorporated those days into its liturgical calendar: Easter and Christmas are additional examples holidays with pagan roots. The day before "All Saints Day" was known as "All Hallows Eve;" hence, Halloween. Around AD 1000, the church made November 2 "All Souls' Day," a day to honor the dead. It was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels, and devils.

Later, in the 15th century, Luther nailed his 99-thesis on the door of the cathedral in Wittenberg on November 1, signaling a formal beginning to the Protestant Reformation. Mainline Protestant churches celebrate November 1 as Reformation Day, honoring the work of Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, and others.

So for the Protestant church, November 1 marks two significant events: the honoring and remembering of the saints who came before us and the beginning of the Reformation. Yes, Halloween is a very ecclesiastical (church-y) holiday: for the Christian calendar it marks the Eve of All Saints Day, like Christmas Eve signals the evening before Christmas Day. The word, Halloween, itself is quite Christian, perhaps more so that Fall Festival or Harvest Celebration. In its original context, Halloween celebrates the lives of the saint who have gone before us.

To celebrate a "Fall Festival" or "Harvest Carnival" is to worship as the ancient Celts: the close of the fall/harvest and the beginning of winter. Ironically, some churches, wanting to get away from Halloween, actually move closer to its roots. Even hell houses participate in the ancient Celtic practice of dressing in costumes on the 31st of October. Churches, who scorn Halloween, pay greater respect to the intent of the ancient Celts by associating the day with Fall and harvest-time.

Don't begrudge Christians for having a celebration on Oct. 31: I encourage it. What I do begrudge is the neglect these Christians show to European and Church history. I'm not saying we need to dress up like demons and evil spirits. We shouldn't sacrifice goats or cats or birds or grain. Some openly rebuke and scold Christians for celebrating Halloween. But in their ignorance, Christians who observe “Fall Festivals” become the thing they despise. I really understand the intentions behind these Christians, but we have to be examples of how to celebrate Halloween properly. Highlight lives of saints leading up to Halloween, dress as a historical Christian who inspires you, pay homage to those who have gone before, educate your children on the history of Halloween. It's time we take back what is rightly ours!

In the New Testament, Paul wrote to the church at Colosse "Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day." (Col. 2.16)

Let's grow up, be Christians, acknowledge our history, and celebrate accordingly.

**disclaimer** i originally wrote this about 4 fours ago, and you can find a much more toned down and practical version of this on the church blog next week.

fair

2007-10-23T11:57:00.000-05:00

we went to the state fair of texas on Sat. it was the next to the last day of the fair, and there were a ton of people there. one of the foods i love most at the fair are the tornado potato twisters. spirals of deep fried potatoes, thinly sliced and seasoned with cajun spices. yummy.

it's official

2007-10-17T17:30:00.001-05:00

if only i lived in south carolina...interestingly, according to a NYTimes piece, the so. carolina dems wont let him run as a republican if he runs as a dem. but the so. carolina republicans wont stop him from running as a dem.

Submission

2007-10-16T12:13:00.000-05:00

last week i published an entry on the church blog about submission. here is an commentary by Ben Witherington on the same subject. enjoy!

a modest reply

2007-10-10T00:22:00.000-05:00

this post is in reply to Carlton's reply to the emergent church post. i really appreciate Carlton's comments and the chance to respond to a few of those comments.

many people dont like "kingdom now" theology or "realize eschatology." but the fact is, while the consummation of the kingdom rests in the future, it was, is, and can be realized to some measure 2000 years ago thru today. certainly, the world's in a dark hour, and things haven't gotten better. but it is clear: Jesus won and his kingdom is established in our lives and our living. no doubt jesus believed and taught this himself. ultimately, the scripture predicts that the complete rule and reign of God will happen here on planet earth as well as thru the entire cosmos. we get the picture of the city of God descending to earth, and Jesus ruling and reigning with his people.

"The only way this world will ever be transformed is by the removal of sin and the sinful nature inside of man." in fact, the transformation of the world begin with Jesus (birth, life, death, and ultimately resurrection), who defeated the last enemy, death and makes all things new. and that transformation has changed my life and many of the lives of community of students i lead. subtly, subversively, but substantially people are changing. there's a lot more to this than "asking Jesus into your heart." following Christ means seeking his rule and reign (seek ye first...) and reorienting our lives toward the cross.

it's not our job to set up God's kingdom: that's been done. but instead we manifest that kingdom in the way that we live, act, do, and be. that's what peter is talking about: a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God. this, of course, has social and political implications (and myriad other implications as well).

The world will always be sinful so injustice will never disappear, and the Church can not change that. Only the return of Christ will. yes, in this world there will be trouble, but Jesus has overcome the world. true, injustice will cease when the kingdom of God is completely realized. like all creation, we yearn, strive, and long for that day. until then, we live out the kingdom as best we can, by the help of the Holy Spirit and according to the words of the prophet: "To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."

i might add here, too, that Jesus understood the social dimensions of his ministry; in fact, Jesus was really involved in overcoming injustice. he inagurual sermon was from Isaiah, which many tend to spiritualize, but i believe Jesus meant quite literally.

The Spirit of God, the Master, is on me because God anointed me.
He sent me to preach good news to the poor,
heal the heartbroken,
Announce freedom to all captives,
pardon all prisoners.
God sent me to announce the year of his grace—
a celebration of God's destruction of our enemies—
and to comfort all who mourn,
To care for the needs of all who mourn in Zion,
give them bouquets of roses instead of ashes,
Messages of joy instead of news of doom,
a praising heart instead of a languid spirit. --The Message, Isaiah 61

his very resurrection is a political statement about the death penalty and the power of the state. but i'll save that one for another time...:)

split infinitives

2007-10-09T11:33:00.000-05:00

just so anyone reading this knows: split infinitives arent taboo anymore. you can use them; it's ok.

oh and check out my new toy :)

emerging church

2007-10-08T22:09:00.000-05:00

i've been really drawn to the emerging church movement. Brian McLaren, a leader in the movement, has a new book and i found this review of the book, (which i haven't read yet). interestingly, i can see a lot of influence of NT Wright in McLaren's book. I knew that many emerging church people have been shaped by Wright, but the summary of McLaren's view sounds just like him.

i think it's fruitful to read the review. i agree with McLaren's position, but disagree with the summary of the review, particuarlly, the last paragraph:

It seems clear to me that Everything Must Change is another step down the steep path that leads farther and farther away from biblical orthodoxy. McLaren seems to be fully aware of the path he is taking and of the crowd he is taking with him. I fear for them all. It seems increasingly clear to me that the new kind of Christian is starting to resemble no kind of Christian at all…

i challenge the idea of "biblical orthodoxy." no such beast exists in church history or in a historical-critical reading of the texts. the reviewer implies that "biblical orthodoxy" is a end in itself. of course more blame rests with McLaren who juxiposed his view with the "classical" view, as if to imply unanimity through out the centuries.

Sex and the Bible Review

2007-10-08T15:48:00.000-05:00

I came across this review today. I thought the whole review was interesting, particularly this paragraph.

Ellens [the author of the book] cites the Old Testament stories where women, most notably Ruth and Esther, employ their feminine charms to seduce men for the furtherance of God's aims (and their own). Far from being condemned, these women earn nothing but praise from the biblical authors. It's ironic that Ruth is upheld as a role model for conservative Christian girls today. Instead of "waiting on God" for a husband, she spotted a good man, followed him home from a party, and jumped into bed with him—violating three "Biblical Rules for Dating" at once. -from -Books and Culture.

Torture Is Just Wrong

2007-10-08T10:17:00.000-05:00

Here and here

I firmly, strongly, adomently am convicted that torture, harsh treatment, cruel punishment is wrong. It's wrong morally, ethically, practically, scripturally, personally, and corporately. It's inhuman un-Christian, un-Jesus, and un-God.

the argument that it makes "us" safer against "them" is rubbish. you know what would make me safer, a concrete wall and land mines. sure, kill everyone who comes within, oh say, 100 yards of me. that would make me safer. but that's not how we were intended to live. it's not right.

God save us from ourselves.

The True Christian Nation

2007-10-03T13:26:00.000-05:00

Yes, this is why I propose the following: instead of being angry that the commandments aren’t in a court house or class room, let’s live out the ten commandments. Let’s be true and faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. This is how the process is supposed to work. As we live out our discipleship to Christ (and as we struggle the whole while), people will join us on our journey and come to faith in Christ by that witness: our faith(fullness). I doubt many people have stopped, repented, and come to faith in Christ after seeing the ten commandments on the wall. Let us live out our Christian faith, witness and invite others to join us, and not expect non-Christians to behave as Christians until they come to faith.

As I close, it's worth remembering: American is not a Christian nation, nor was it a Christian nation! The true nation of God is not bound by geographical borders, by linear time, nor by ethnicity/religion. This true kingdom of God is the rule and reign of God established in the lives of his people, those called out of darkness into his glorious light. This true kingdom will find its fruition in the escaton: completion of time in the rule of God!

Where the 10 Commandments Really Belong

2007-10-03T13:23:00.000-05:00

The question still remains: do the ten commandments belong in the court house. As argued above, American ideals were birthed from the Enlightenment thinkers, so that eliminates the argument that America was founded on Christian principles. Second, let’s look at these commands.

1 and 2 (no other gods, and no idols) clearly cannot be enforced because of the establishment of religion. Though Americans may claim to support the ten commands, few can say to uphold them because of the idols of materialism and individualism. 3 (misuse the name of your God) is not upheld either, primarily because the majority of Americans are not Christians and it violates the establishment of religion. 4 (the Sabbath day) is not even practiced by believers and were we to follow it, we could not eat out on Sunday nor have the 24/7 customer support lines we have come to rely on. 10 (covet neighbors’ house) is laughable because of the rampant consumerism. Further, coveting is an internal action, something that occurs in the mind and can hardly be regulated or punished by the state (at least not yet, though they may read our thoughts soon enough ). This leaves 5 (honor father and mother) which practically would be hard to enforce. Also, we have 6, 7, 8, 9 (murder, adultery, stealing, and lying) which clearly can be legislated. I suppose if we could reduce the ten commandments to four, it would offend very few.

I must say though, posting the ten commandments has no practical effect except making an idol out the word of God (which violates the 2nd commandment). As Christians we do not need the
commandments written in stone, as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 3.3, You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

You see, for Christians, God’s law is written on our hearts.

I know a good idea when I see one: Seperation of Church and State

2007-10-01T10:56:00.000-05:00

Separation of Church and State is a good idea.

The pilgrims may have come to the new world to escape religious persecution in england; however, they were not the first to live in North America. The Indians before them worshiped tribal deities and sacrificed to false gods. Previously, the Spanish entered North America from Central and South America, slaughtering thousands of native Americans and “conquered” them for Christianity, hardly a legitimate expression of one’s faith.

Often historians, both students and professionals, confuse the purpose of the pilgrims and the purpose the revolutionaries who founded American. The idea of the English pilgrims might have been to create “a New Jerusalem” on the other side of the Atlantic; however, with the “founding fathers” this idea was not an issue. Of the many reasons for starting the rebellion (taxation without representation, quartering soliders in the houses of civilians), religious establishment, or lack there of, was a low priority.

After the arrival of the pilgrims, convicts were sent to “Georgia,” which was a penal colony. Many of the revolutionaries were deists (this is believed by most historians, except a few Christians who isogete the early texts); though they believed in a god, they did not have a salvation knowledge of him and rejected all forms of the supernatural, including the incarnation of Jesus Christ as the living Son of God.

I also strongly disagree with those say America was founded in Christian ideals. “All men created equal,” “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” and such are ideas bred from Enlightenment thinking. Though Christianity may have been A source of the Enlightenment, by the item the American Revolution took place, the Enlightenment had divorced itself from its Christian roots. This divorce took place quite purposefully. The Enlightenment denied the miracles of the bible, saw humans as able to accomplish good in and of themselves with the advancement of science. Thus it denied the proper place of God.

Even more, the separation of Church and State was taken from a letter written by Thomas Jefferson (who personally edited the miracles out of the new Testament) to the Danbury Baptist church in New England. And though many early leaders in the United States did not have a clear understanding of the issue, separation of Church and State remains an important principle for more than just the following reasons. Religion has been used to coerce members of minority faiths in this country. Opportunities for corruption are presented whenever government and religion work too closely together.

Further, fewer people went to church in the United States during the “Civil War” than go to church today, interestingly enough. Thus brothers slaughtered brothers and sons murdered fathers and the civil war proved to be the Petri dish where our modern civil-religion (i.e. "for god and country") has grown.

Even in the 21st century, this nation has entered in the post-Christian era (or pre-Christian, depending on your perspective). Though many people may believe in “God,” what and who this God is often remains a mystery and hardly warrants faith in Jesus Christ, the only way to salvation. As Peter reminds his readers, the Church is the only Christian nation: 9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 1 Peter 2.9-10

Books Back in Prision

2007-09-28T11:32:00.000-05:00

According to a Bureau of Prisons statement provided to NPR Wednesday:

In response to concerns expressed by members of several religious communities, the Bureau of Prisons has decided to alter its planned course of action with respect to the Chapel Library Project. The Bureau will begin immediately to return to chapel libraries materials that were removed in June 2007, with the exception of any publications that have been found to be inappropriate.

You can read more about it here.

iranian president and TBN

2007-09-25T12:15:00.000-05:00

iran's president, mahmoud ahmadinejada, spoke yesterday at columbia university. (watch here). many people were outraged and protested his appearance at the ivy league school. but i dont understand the hubbub. i mean, people love to watch crazy people talk. why else would TBN be so popular and have millions of dollars in cash reserves?

funny phrases

2007-09-24T17:18:00.000-05:00

i love funny spanish phrases. here are my top three. these phrases sound especially funny with a southern accent. try em out. but remember the phrases are trademarked, so you'll owe me a quarter every time you use a phrase. oh, and i use the honor system, yep the honor system just like the government. i'll read your mail, email, and listen to your phone calls!

3) "Oh, my gatos!" -Luis Solano

2) "Como say what?!" -Sam Martinez

1) "Quien es tu papa?" -Sam Martinez (i actually said that to my dad this weekend).

uses for tennis balls

2007-09-20T09:11:00.000-05:00

The importance of tennis balls in your everyday life.
http://www.diylife.com/2007/07/09/diy-tennis-balls-little-yellow-useful/

Bush Administration Removes Christian Books from Prison

2007-09-19T09:36:00.000-05:00

The Bush administration quietly ordered chaplains in the Federal Bureau of Prisons to remove certain religious books from prison libraries. The effort, called the "Standardized Chapel Library Project," allows only books on a select list prescribed by the administration to remain on the shelves. Works by Rick Warren ("The Purpose Driven Life"), Swiss theologian Karl Barth (pronounced Bart), Reinhold Niebuhr (who influenced Martin Luther King, Jr), and early church fathers, as well as other Jewish and Islamic texts, are banned from federal prison libraries.

The administration says that books that advocate violence and terrorism could help draw new recruits from the prison population. But the last time I looked at Barth's "Church Dogmatics," it was terrorist free. I didn't particularly care for"The Purpose Driven Life," but it hardly incited people to violence. Many of the books in prison libraries were donated by churches and synagogues.

The scary thing is that the government is deciding what inmates should and shouldn't read on a narrow scale. Sure, books advocating violence, terrorism, racism, gangs, etc, should be banned. But this is way over the line. Don't let them look on my shelf: I have a book called "The War of Terrorism and the Terror of God."

Thank God for Christians in the White House.

You can read more:
NY Times: Prisons Purging Books on Faith From Libraries
CSM: Prison purge of religious books
Winston-Salem Journal: Prison Books

vision: focus

2007-09-18T22:29:00.000-05:00

i spoke on focus sun night to the students. we've cast a new vision called Vision: CXC. our goal is to reach 100 students in 100 days. basically, we're going to average 100 students in our service by dec 16.

i think focus :

1. affects your future
2. should be clear on one thing
3. only when you risk greatest failure can you have the greatest success.

so i hope the students are buying in to the vision.

Emmy Winners

2007-09-17T09:23:00.000-05:00

i'll admit it: i didnt watch the emmy awards last night. i really dont care about the awards. though, i was pulling for my man, stephen colbert, to win in the variety show categories. sadly, he lost out to tony bennett and colbert's own benefactor, jon stewart!

the sting of defeat. it will be interesting to hear colbert's take on the loss. tune in tonight's "report".

until then, here's a partial list of the winners. notice that james spader won for "boston legal," a show i love!

Petraeus Speaks Out

2007-09-12T07:44:00.000-05:00

David Petraeus has been making the rounds in committee rooms on Capital Hill.

I think Jon Stewart said it best...(link coming)

also, "the general stunned a packed Senate hearing room when he answered, "Sir, I don't know, actually," to a question from Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) on whether pressing ahead with the war "is making America safer."

he also admitted that Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11.