Maybe its not fair to "review" a movie I haven't even seen yet, or for that matter, one I'm not necessarily planning on viewing. But seeing an article on CNN.com about latest movie starring Jack Black, Year One, I couldn't resist.
The article on CNN concerns whether Year One, where two Stone Age cavemen that are exiled from their tribe "wander into the Bible", will cause the usual uproar amongst us religious sorts. Through the movie, the two main characters meet "biblical characters such as Cain, Abel, Abraham and Isaac" and visit such exotic locales such as Sodom.
I'm less concerned about people being offended at poking fun at the Bible; instead, I'm offended at the lack of research. They meet Cain, Abel, Abraham and Issac? Um....last time I checked, Cain and Abel did not co-exist with Abraham and Isaac... The movie was compared to Monty Python's Life with Brian, but at least they didn't confuse entire eras by meshing together people who lived generations apart. But maybe that's a plot point...or something. Or maybe it's just a poorly written comedy.
But I shouldn't be so harsh since I haven't seen the movie yet. Besides, I tend to like Jack Black and Harold Ramis, who directs this film. However, Year One is not high up on my to-see Summer Blockbuster list.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Sunday, June 14, 2009
God bless America....
I was catching up on blog reading when I came across an article over on Think Christian entitled Keep Your Piece? which expounds on the well-meaning idea of a pastor to allow his congregation to bring in their firearms to church in preparation for July 4. As one commenter points out, since the Fourth isn't a religious holiday, its somewhat uncertain what the pastor is actually trying to accomplish.
I can't help but wonder why our faith is so bound up with being patriotic in this country. I went to Christian Book's website (where I do most of my book shopping) and typed in "America" in the search field. It came up with ten pages of books that have that key word.
I then went and found the Bible that I had seen advertised in Discipleship Journal a few weeks ago: The NKJV American Patriot's Bible. Here's what the product description says:
The spiritual needs of those who love our country? This goes a little beyond the whole argument of whether America was founded by good Christ-loving Christians or secular Deist (sorry, but it was the Deists -- I learned that from my Christ-loving history teachers/professors). Yes, now we're drifting into the realm of biblical interpretation. I'm just not sure what parts of the Bible you can "interweave" with American history. Yes, Paul says to pray for those in authority over us (see Titus 2:1-2) and Peter likewise says to submit to whatever human institution is in power over us (see 1 Peter 2:13-14). There is nothing wrong to be proud of our nation, to pray for our leaders, and to submit to them (I could go into a satisfying rant about those who refuse to do such things just because our current president is not a Republican, but that might just have to wait). And there have been periods of great spiritual revival in our country (i.e. The Great Awakening).
I do love my country, but I am a Christian first, then an American. Philippians 3:20 states "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ." It would be nice to hear that preached on July 5th.
I can't help but wonder why our faith is so bound up with being patriotic in this country. I went to Christian Book's website (where I do most of my book shopping) and typed in "America" in the search field. It came up with ten pages of books that have that key word.
I then went and found the Bible that I had seen advertised in Discipleship Journal a few weeks ago: The NKJV American Patriot's Bible. Here's what the product description says:
Never has a version of the Bible targeted the spiritual needs of those who love our country more than The American Patriot's Bible. This extremely unique Bible shows how the history of the United States connects the people and events of the Bible to our lives in a modern world. The story of the United States is wonderfully woven into the teachings of the Bible and includes a beautiful full-color family record section, memorable images from our nation's history and hundreds of enlightening articles which complement the New King James Version Bible text.
The spiritual needs of those who love our country? This goes a little beyond the whole argument of whether America was founded by good Christ-loving Christians or secular Deist (sorry, but it was the Deists -- I learned that from my Christ-loving history teachers/professors). Yes, now we're drifting into the realm of biblical interpretation. I'm just not sure what parts of the Bible you can "interweave" with American history. Yes, Paul says to pray for those in authority over us (see Titus 2:1-2) and Peter likewise says to submit to whatever human institution is in power over us (see 1 Peter 2:13-14). There is nothing wrong to be proud of our nation, to pray for our leaders, and to submit to them (I could go into a satisfying rant about those who refuse to do such things just because our current president is not a Republican, but that might just have to wait). And there have been periods of great spiritual revival in our country (i.e. The Great Awakening).
I do love my country, but I am a Christian first, then an American. Philippians 3:20 states "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ." It would be nice to hear that preached on July 5th.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
GRITS
GRITS: Girl Raised in the South.
Yep, that's what I am, though I lack that charming Southern belle lilt to my voice (I have more of the Redneck drawl, which gets worse the more exhausted I am). And the South's claim to fame (other than being the Bible belt) is Southern hospitality.
Which I completely lack.
In fact, every time I take a spiritual gifts assessment, hospitality isn't even a blip on the radar. But God has definitely put some people in my life that exhibit this spiritual gift: and none of them are women.
Indeed, the two people that first come to mind when I think of the gift of hospitality are my husband and my father. They love to cook for others and the more people to cook for, the better. As I type this, my husband is smoking up the house cooking sausage for the baked ziti that he plans to serve on the family of six that will be our guests today (did I mention we live in a one-bedroom apartment?). My dad's typical get-together involves 25 to 30 extended relatives cramming into the little two bed-room house I grew up in. My dad will get up before dawn, regardless of the weather, to fire up the grill for the holiday barbeques. Likewise, my husband strolled in from work at 5:00 this morning and prepped everything for cooking, then got up just five hours later to fix us coffee, do devotions and start actually cooking the meal.
And neither one of them want praise. In my dad's case, he can cook for the extended family and he seldom gets a thank-you (and depending on which side of the family it is, he might not even get a compliment on how good the food is). Meanwhile, I, who usually hadn't even lifted a finger to help clean the house, grumbled and griped about people's lack of thanks. Whenever I would say something to my dad, he would just shrug it off and say he hoped everyone had enough to eat.
When I sit back and think about it, I think I lack the humility for true hospitality. To work so hard cleaning the house, cooking the food, and then the clean up afterward, and not to even want thanks for it all, that's something that I find hard to swallow. Hospitality takes a real servant's heart: someone who is not looking for praise or notice.
Yep, that's what I am, though I lack that charming Southern belle lilt to my voice (I have more of the Redneck drawl, which gets worse the more exhausted I am). And the South's claim to fame (other than being the Bible belt) is Southern hospitality.
Which I completely lack.
In fact, every time I take a spiritual gifts assessment, hospitality isn't even a blip on the radar. But God has definitely put some people in my life that exhibit this spiritual gift: and none of them are women.
Indeed, the two people that first come to mind when I think of the gift of hospitality are my husband and my father. They love to cook for others and the more people to cook for, the better. As I type this, my husband is smoking up the house cooking sausage for the baked ziti that he plans to serve on the family of six that will be our guests today (did I mention we live in a one-bedroom apartment?). My dad's typical get-together involves 25 to 30 extended relatives cramming into the little two bed-room house I grew up in. My dad will get up before dawn, regardless of the weather, to fire up the grill for the holiday barbeques. Likewise, my husband strolled in from work at 5:00 this morning and prepped everything for cooking, then got up just five hours later to fix us coffee, do devotions and start actually cooking the meal.
And neither one of them want praise. In my dad's case, he can cook for the extended family and he seldom gets a thank-you (and depending on which side of the family it is, he might not even get a compliment on how good the food is). Meanwhile, I, who usually hadn't even lifted a finger to help clean the house, grumbled and griped about people's lack of thanks. Whenever I would say something to my dad, he would just shrug it off and say he hoped everyone had enough to eat.
When I sit back and think about it, I think I lack the humility for true hospitality. To work so hard cleaning the house, cooking the food, and then the clean up afterward, and not to even want thanks for it all, that's something that I find hard to swallow. Hospitality takes a real servant's heart: someone who is not looking for praise or notice.
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