The Squared Circle: The Best Are Good at Being Good and Bad

The greatest actors to me are those who can be equally convincing playing a villain or a hero. That sort of versatility requires a reservoir of talent much deeper than that necessary to be just a "good guy" or "bad guy." And the same is true with professional wrestling, in my opinion. Some guys spent their entire career being heroes (like Ricky the Dragon Steamboat) or villains (like the Sheik, or the Iron Sheik). All of these wrestlers were very talented, and knew how to tell a story, but the lack of multi-dimensionality is a major negative for me.

Museum of the Messiah: The Manger

In the second lesson in this series I talked about the significance of the manger Jesus was placed in (Luke 2:1-12). The manger signifies the humility of Jesus-

Sermon: Museum of the Messiah - The Swaddling Cloths

Yesterday I began a series on the birth of Jesus imagining a museum exhibit of the life of Jesus. The first artifact on display is the swaddling cloths mentioned in Luke 2:1-12. The swaddling cloths are a vivid reminder of Jesus' humanity. And according to Matthew 1:18-22, Jesus became human to be Immanuel, "God with us." Why is God with us?

Conservativism - The Negation of Ideology

Russell Kirk's The Conservative Mind was a landmark study of the various threads of conservative thought. Sadly, today's so-called conservatives get their marching orders from the media-entertainment complex rather than looking back to the first principles, or as Kirk called them, the "permanent things" of traditional conservatism. As a result, conservatism has been dumbed down to a few bullet points and divorced from the prudent, thoughtful legacy of men like Kirk.

This paragraph from the forward to the seventh edition of The Conservative Mind captures the essence of conservatism:

The Squared Circle: Make 'Em Laugh!

I have always tended to cheer for the villains ("heels") rather than the good guys ("babyfaces") in wrestling. Part of the reason is that the heels by their very nature tended to be more interesting, more flamboyant. But another reason for my preference for the bad guys has to do with how entertaining a good heel is in the ring. The job of the heel is to make the good guy look good, to put him in a position to make the big comeback and pull out a win (or lose by cheating).

In order to accomplish this, a heel has to have tremendous timing, feeding off the audience to know when the right time is to let the babyface make his comeback. And another key component to a good heel is a sense of comedic timing. A great bad guy makes the hero look good by making himself look comically incompetent.

Notice this classic Ric Flair move-



How can you not laugh when you see that? And how can you not love a performer who can make you laugh? That's one reason I like the "bad guys."

What is conservativism?

How many times have you heard or read the words "soul-searching" after the recent election? As in this headline: "After Romney loss, GOP soul searching begins." There is indeed a great deal of discussion and debate among those who consider themselves "conservative" over the direction of the conservative movement and the Republican Party. But who defines conservativism, and how should conservativism be defined? That is the deeper philosophical issue behind these discussions. 

Sermon: Abounding in Thanksgiving

Even though Colossians is a relatively small letter, Paul says a great deal in the book about giving thanks. Here are some points I drew out of the book for my sermon yesterday morning:

The Squared Circle - Telling a Story

Tonight my barbershop quartet, Lunch Break, will be performing here in Nashville. Singing in the quartet has been a great hobby and a wonderful outlet for my interest in music. We do mostly comedic stuff, and sometimes it is even funny! Trying to figure out what it takes to move an audience is part science, part art, sometimes frustrating, but always exciting.

If at First You Don't Secede - or Saving Conservatism

In the aftermath of President Obama's re-election, the reaction on the right has been one of anger, disbelief, and denial. Anger because the president's election allegedly shows that America is now a country in which there are "more takers than givers." Disbelief because of the barrage of predictions by pundits on the right that Romney was going to easily defeat the President. And denial, to the point that some so-called conservatives are now openly talking about secession.

Sermon: What the Election Will Not Change

1.  Our loyalty to Christ above all attachments – Philippians 3:20-21; Acts 5:29

2.  Our mission to proclaim that Jesus is Lord – Ephesians 1:20-21; Acts 17:1-8

3.  Our duty to honor, submit to and pray for those in authority – 1 Peter 2:13-17;            
1 Timothy 2:1-3; Acts 16:16-39

4.  Our ability to change lives through love and truth – Ephesians 5:8-14; Acts 19:18-20, 21-27

The Squared Circle - My Pop

I came by my love of professional wrestling naturally. My granddad (whom I always called "Pop") was a long-time fan. One of my first memories as a child is watching Tojo Yamamoto being pummeled on TV, crying because I thought it was completely legit, upset at the sight of blood. Since he believed all the action was legit as well, he didn't have many options to calm me down, and eventually he had to change the channel!

Passages Regarding the Responsibility of the Church to Elders

I am doing a series on the eldership, and here is a breakdown of the  passages related to the role of the church in its relationship to the elders.

1 Thess. 5:12-13

The Squared Circle: "Good on the Stick"

In addition to the illusion of violence, I think the other thing that drew me into professional wrestling was the interviews of the wrestlers. Maybe that's because I have always been keen on good speakers (like preachers and politicians), and wanted to be either a preacher or a politician when I grew up. And since wrestling is designed to be entertaining, a wrestler who was "good on the stick" (excelled at the microphone) always jumped to the top of my list of favorites! And like I said last week, when my buddies and I would imitate our favorites, we not only did matches, we also did interviews.

Qualities of Elders/Overseers/Shepherds

The Qualities of Elders/Overseers/Shepherds

The English translation in quotation marks is from the ESV. All definitions are from BDAG. Many thanks to my friend Tom Hamilton for organizing the qualities in these categories (and for thinking of them as qualities rather than qualifications). I did not define the terms that are self-evident.

Same Terms in Timothy and Titus

·      “Husband of one wife” - μιᾶς γυναικὸς ἄνδρα (mias gynaikos andra), one woman/wife man/husband

·      “Self-controlled” -  σώφρων (sōphrōn), pert. to being in control of oneself, prudent, thoughtful, self-controlled

·      “Hospitable”

·      “Not a drunkard”

·      “Not violent” -  πλήκτης (plēktēs), pugnacious person, bully

Sermon: Amnon and Tamar

Amnon and Tamar

Introduction

Mount Pleasant was rocked this week by the news that the star QB of the high school football team along with two of his friends was arrested for allegedly having relations with a 12 year old girl. The boys were ages 16, 17 and 18, and since all three of them were with her, it is unclear who the father of the child was. According to reports, the acts were consensual, but since the girl was under age it is considered rape nonetheless.

The Squared Circle - Why I Loved Pro Wrestling

When I was a child, Saturday mornings meant three things: cinnamon toast, cartoons, and professional wrestling. This was long before the days of the WWE. When I was a boy, professional wrestling was locally produced, and what you watched on TV depended on the "territory" you lived in. Growing up in central Kentucky, I lived in what was called "the Memphis territory," a promotion run by Jerry Jarrett. The big stars were folks like Superstar Bill Dundee, Handsome Jimmy Valiant, Dirty Dutch Mantell, and the biggest of them all, Jerry "the King" Lawler.

Politics, Religion, and the Danger of Compromise

Religious convictions should never be muted or compromised for the sake of political correctness (whether liberal or conservative). Even though I am not a Catholic or a Mormon, for instance, I really appreciate the fact that

We Are Going Broke and It's My Fault (And Yours, Too)

Our nation is drowning in debt, and if the government used standard accounting practicies, entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare would reveal an actual debt of $40 trillion (yes, TRILLION) unfunded commitments. This problem has been brewing for a long time, but we the people have either ignored it or refused to hold our politicians to account. We have no one to blame but ourselves. I truly believe that we get the government we deserve, and that has never been the case more than right now.

The problem is that both parties are controlled by inflexible elements that will not do what has to be done to solve this problem: raise taxes and cut spending while reforming Medicare and Social Security. Last night's vice-presidential debate put into sharp focus what's wrong with our country. First, Mr. Biden sounded like he was in a debate from the 1980s, dusting off the old canard that Republicans hate Social Security and Medicare, and refusing to put on the table any solutions like opening Medicare up to market competition. And last summer when the President and the Speaker were negotiation a "Grand Bargain," the President lost nerve because elements in his party would not accept changes in spending and entitlements.

Meanwhile, the Speaker could not go through with their deal because of people like Romney and Ryan who steadfastly oppose tax increases. In fact, they are promising to cut rates by 20% in addition to maintaing all of the Bush tax cuts, while claiming that this will be revenue neutral due to offsets in tax expenditures (deductions) and "growth." Yet they have refused to explain what deductions they will end, and how the number of deductions can make up for the cuts. They just think that with the wave of a magic wand, "growth" will take care of everything.

Last night Mr. Ryan argued that this has been done before by JFK and Reagan. Here's the problem with his logic. The tax rates were much higher when JFK and Reagan cut taxes. Eisenhower had left in the high tax rates to fund the Korean War and reduce the debt from WW2 (imagine that - a Republican who thinks wars should be paid for!). So there was room to maneuver to reduce those rates once the Korean War was over and the debt had been partiallly paid down. In Reagan's case, the rates were still quite high (70% for the top rate), and worst of all, inflation was raging out of control, pushing workers into higher tax brackets without greater spending power (it was called bracket creep). Even then, after President Reagan cut taxes, he had to raise them again in 1982 and 1986 to offset the deficits. But today the highest rate is 35% and inflation is non-existent. The situations are not the same at all, so to continue to promote the Kennedy and Reagan tax cuts when the scenario is far different is the epitome of ideology over reality.

The real way to grow the economy is to show that we are serious about tackling the issue of debt. And this is a moral issue. It is immoral to pass on trillions in debt to future generations. It is immoral to make promises to seniors that we will have to break. And it is a family values issue as well. If we don't fix this problem now, the sacrifices every family will have to make will only be more painful down the road.

And this is all my fault. I used to be a rabid partisan and ideologue. I used to love talk radio, and read only those sources that I agreed with. No more.

Last night I posted a status update on the debate coverage of Fox News and MSNBC, joking that you would never know the two channels were covering the same debate. My point was that ideology was trumping reality. And doggone it if many of my friends didn't chime in with ardent partisan comments about their guy, proving that what is true in the media is now true among many of us. 

We have dug ourselves into a hole that is getting deeper by the day. And as long as we allow the ideologues in either party to control the debate, nothing will be done to fix it. I URGE you to check out the website of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, and also to download and read the report of the co-chair's of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform found here. 

We can have a good government we deserve, but only if we will muster the political will to stand up to the intransigent forces in each party that refuse to do what must be done to solve this problem.

Is There a Christian Economic Policy?

One of the dramatic changes in America that has taken place in my lifetime is the shifting political  allegiance of evangelicals. Growing up in Kentucky, most people I had anything to do with were self-described evangelicals, and most were Democrats. They believed in traditional moral values, a strong national defense, and an economic policy that was fair to "the working man." They typically held Republicans in suspicion as servants of wealthy special interests like corporations, and believed that New Deal programs saved the county from the economic ruin of the Depression.

Ecclesiastes Lesson 2: All Is Vanity (1:1-11)

The opening verses of the book set the stage for the themes that will recur throughout Ecclesiastes.

The Introduction (1:1-3)

Ecclesiastes is framed by a narrator who speaks of the author (Qohelet, “the Preacher”) in the third person (see the conclusion in 12:8-14).

Ecclesiastes - Introduction

I have started a new adult Bible class on the Book of Ecclesiastes. I am giving my class some self-guided study guides to work on ahead of time. Here is the first lesson, an introduction.

Authorship

The title of this book reflects the term that is used to describe the author. The English title, Ecclesiastes, comes from the Greek word (ekklesiastes) that means “one who addresses an assembly (ekklesia)". The Hebrew title is Qohelet [pronounced ko-HEL-et], which means “one who leads an assembly.”

Blog About Archaeology

I have been quite busy the last few weeks with travel. Last week I flew down to Florida to take part in a unique camp, a one-week production of The Music Man. The cast had scripts for some time, but we literally came in to little ACA Camp Geneva to block, rehearse, and perform The Music Man in one week! It was an intense experience, and a ton of fun.

Anyway, an old friend of mine, Luke Chandler, was also in the production, and we had a chance to talk a little bit about the archaeological work he has done in Israel. Luke has a great blog about Bible archaeology, and I'd encourage you to check it out.

http://lukechandler.wordpress.com/

"The essence of Christianity...

... does not consist in being pious but in being joyous.” Count Nicholas von Zinzendorf

Religious Affiliation? "None" on the Rise

USA Today recently reported that the number of respondents to a Pew Research survey on religious affiliation who indicated "None" has risen dramatically, from 6% in 1990 to 19% this year. One of the researches attributed this sharp rise in unbelief/agnosticism/disinterest to the following:  "Young people are resistant to the authority of institutional religion, older people are turned off by the politicization of religion, and people are simply less into theology than ever before."


What do you think is causing this trend?

Confidence in Organized Religion

is declining according to a recent Gallup poll. Why do you think this is?

"A proud prayer is...

...a self-contradictory endeavor." Peter Rhea Jones, Studying the Parables of Jesus (Macon: Smyth & Helwys, 1999), p. 254, cited by Klyne Snodgrass, Stories With Intent: A Comprehensive Guide to the Parables of Jesus . Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. Kindle Edition. 

Spoiled Rotten - MUST reading for parents

I saw a link to this article from a friend on FB, and cannot encourage parents strongly enough to read it!

The "Sinner's Prayer"

Scot McKnight had some interesting comments regarding a mini-controversy at the Southern Baptist Convention. I think McKnight is on target.

Ben Witherington interview with Bart Ehrman

Conservative NT scholar Ben Witherington recently interviewed not-so-conservative NT scholar Bart Ehrman on the issue of whether Jesus actually existed. You may know that in the last few years a small group of skeptics has challenged the very existence of Jesus of Nazareth. I think you will enjoy these interviews (there are seven posts in all), not because you will agree with everything Ehrman says - you won't. But I think you will enjoy them because because you will see how strong the historical testimony is about Jesus, even as understood by a scholar as hostile to traditional Christianity as Ehrman.

Religiously Unaffiliated in MIddle Tennessee

This week the Tennessean ran a story about religious affiliation in Middle Tennessee. While the Nashville area is the "buckle of the Bible belt," even in this very religious part of the country many people do not profess a particular religious affiliation. For example, 41.7% of Davidson Co residents are not affiliated with any religious group, and that figure climbs to 61.6% in Rutherford Co and 66.6% in Cheatham Co. There is lots of work to do. (Thanks to Jerry Mitchell for letting me know about this article)

Ferrell Jenkins's Bible Lands Blog

My friend and former boss Ferrell Jenkins has a wonderful blog that focuses on the lands of the Bible. Today he just clicked over a million visits! Ferrell will be presenting a special series on Bible History and Archaeology here at Woodland Hills this fall (September 30-October 3).

Family Feuds

I am distantly related to the McCoy clan of the infamous Hatfield-McCoy feud. The Scotts intermarried with the McCoys very early in the 1800s, so my shared connections with the McCoys go way back. In view of the History Channel's recent mini-series on the feud, I started thinking about the passages in the New Testament that address conflicts that occur between members of God's family. Maybe you can think of some more relevant passages, but here are three points that emerged for me as I looked at these verses. Feuds are caused by:

• Jealousy and selfish ambition – James 3:13-4:3; 1 John 3:11-15
• Loyalty to earthly ties taking precedence over loyalty to God - 1 Cor. 3:1-4; 1:11-13
• Taking vengeance into one's own hand – Matt. 26:51-53; Rom. 12:17-21; 1 Cor. 6:1-11

Incidentally, if you would like to listen to this sermon, click this link.

Polling about Gen Xers

Here's a story about the religious beliefs of Gen-Xers. Bottom line: "The faith groups that grew during this period were what religion experts call 'the poles,' because they tend to be opposites politically and in their view of religion. Those are non-denominational Christians, a group which grew as a percentage of Gen X-ers — from 12 percent of the population to 16 percent — and people who say they have 'no religion,' a group that grew from 11 percent to 16 percent of the Gen X generation."

Chronology and Christology

Here's a link from New Testament scholar Larry Hurtado's fine blog summarizing evidence regarding the early development of the high view of Jesus in early Christian writings (esp. Paul).

Faith Makes it Easier to Resist Temptation - Go Figure!

Here's a report about a recent study indicating that faith in God helps people to assert self-control.

Vandy and Religious Freedom

Here's an excellent column in a recent Wall Street Journal focusing on the state government's response to Vandy's inexplicable interference with on-campus religious organizations.

Dr James Charlesworth on the "Talpiot Tomb"

Here is a link from Ben Witherington's blog in which he interviews Dr. James Charlesworth from Princeton on the so called "Talpiot Tomb."

Some Thoughts for Conservative Christians Regarding Gay Marriage

President Obama made headlines this week by reversing his opposition to gay marriage. At the same time, voters in North Carolina made that state the 31^st to constitutionally ban gay marriage. Both moves prompted outrage on the right and on the left, and guaranteed that this issue will come to the fore in the presidential election this fall.

I am not a prophet, but I believe that it is inevitable that within 20 years gay marriage will be legal in most states. This prediction isn’t the result of divine inspiration (obviously!), but simple demographics. Polling shows that older Americans generally oppose gay marriage, while younger Americans support it.  So the passing of time will lead to legal recognition of gay marriage.

From a practical point, what does this mean for us as Christians?

Religion and Politics: A Cautionary Note to Christians

This past week Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum reignited the controversy over President Obama’s religious beliefs, and triggered a larger discussion of the relationship between religious beliefs and politics. I have been concerned for some time about a dangerous trend I think I see among believers, and I would like to address it in this post.

Questions About the Afterlife - Part 2 - The Resurrection

Review

1.  The Bible teaches humanity is both material (the body) and immaterial (the spirit).

2.  Death ruptures that wholeness.

3.  The Bible teaches that there is life after death (Lk. 23:43).

a.  The time between death and the resurrection is sometimes called the “intermediate state,” in-between death and the resurrection.

b.  For the righteous, I argued that this involves the spirit resting in the presence of God (2 Cor. 5:6-8).

c.  The Bible doesn’t say much about the state of the wicked, but 2 Peter 2:4 mentions wicked angels cast into “hell” (tartarus), to await the judgment.

4.  But the Bible also teaches the body will be raised and joined with the spirit in the resurrection, life after life after death.

Questions on the Afterlife: Part 1 - Life After Death

Part 1: Life After Death

I.               Life: What Is a Human Being?

A.              The Bible teaches that God created human beings in some sense as both material and immaterial.

1.              “Outer self – inner self” (2 Cor. 4:16).

2.              “Kill the body  - cannot kill the soul” (Matt. 10:28).

Introduction to My Book Project

I have been doing research on Islam for some time now, and I have finally begun writing what will be a small book introducing Islam to Christians and explaining crucial similarities and differences between the two faiths.  I have planned the following chapters-

The Gospel of King Jesus

Introduction

This year’s theme is “proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you,” taken from 1 Peter 2:9. At some point this year I am going to preach through 1 Peter to put this theme in context, but this morning I want to speak with you about the basic meaning of this year’s theme.

We can proclaim the excellencies of God in a lot of ways. We can do it through worship, praising Him for His awesome splendor. The NIV translates this expression, “declare the praises” of God. We can even do it in the way we live, proclaiming God’s love and righteousness through our own good works. The NLT reflects this idea, “you can show others the goodness of God.”

The Song of Simeon (The Original Songs of Jesus' Birth - Part 3)

Introduction

Working through the opening chapters of Luke has been like going to a wonderful party with lots of great food. You want to taste everything, but you only have room on your plate for so much. And in Luke 2, there are several people and events that I would love to preach abouy – the shepherds, Anna, the story about Jesus in the temple at age 12 – but I am going to have to save those stories for another time. What we have been meditating on together are the songs in these opening chapters, the Magnificat of Mary, the Benedictus of Zechariah, and today, the song of an aged Israelite named Simeon.