The Itinerant Iconoclast

70. A Life With Karol (ua), by Stanislaw Dziwisz
71. Loitering with Intent (ua), by Stuart Woods
72. Angel Time (ua), by Anne Rice

I am relatively new to the concept of the "Church Year," and as it is new to me, I am finding value in the rhythms that it brings to my spiritual life.

So now we turn to the time of preparation, to the time when we reflect on what it means to live in anticipation of His coming, trusting in His deliverance of us without yet experiencing it.

Advent is not wise men. Advent is not shepherds. Advent is not angels.

Advent is patience. Advent is waiting. Advent is anticipation.

Enjoy Advent.

Prepare for His coming.

Zondervan deserves credit for responding boldly and decisively to the charges of cultural insensitivity that Professor Soong-Chan Rah brought to their attention regarding the content and marketing in the book "Deadly Viper: Character Assassins."

Issues of race and culture can spin out of control quickly in our modern world, but the way this was handled by Professor Rah, the authors, and the publisher in the spirit of Christian reconciliation was inspiring, and should serve as an example.

Professor Rah's reactions to Zondervan's action are reported here

More Than One Lesson

This is simply the best podcast I've run across that reviews film from a Christian perspective. Host Tyler Smith is a film school graduate living in Hollywood, and looks at film equally from those two perspectives of cinema quality and Christian worldview.

What I like about the show is that Smith knows what he is talking about when it comes to examining film, and he knows what he is talking about when it comes to analyzing Biblical themes and concepts in cinema. Smith is not a fundamentalist in his biblical worldview. To my way of thinking, this separates his podcast positively from too many that I have run across.

His podcast successfully manages to intelligently discuss both faith and cinema. And I appreciate that greatly.

I don't go to Gloryland Nazarne Church. I don't know anybody who goes there. I know almost nothing about the church.

But the little I do know, I like.

I drive by the church regularly, and the variety of musical events they host is terrific. Last Friday, the church hosted its semi-annual Christian rock night. The flyers I saw for the event listed 5 local bands, and braggged about how loud the music would be.

The sign in fronr of the church is currently advertising the upcoming "spaghetti dinner and old-time gospel sing."

Hard rock one week, and a traditional gospel sing the next? A church with that much musical range must be a good church.

Good for you, Gloryland Nazarene Church.

65. Shadow Over Kiriath (pb), by Karen Hancock
66. FlashForward (pb), by Robert J. Sawyer
67. Genius Squad (ua), by Catherine Jinks
68. Divine Justice (ua), by David Baldacci
69. Dexter in the Dark (ua), by Jeff Lindsay

I became a believer in the mid-1980s, just when conservative Christians were turning against Halloween. Much of the impetus for this came from speaker and comedian Mike Warnke.

He showed up on a 1985 episode of 20/20, at the height of Satanic hysteria. His extravagant claims of being a high priest of Satan were later released in his book The Satan Seller. It was these works, with had lurid accounts of Warke's participation in Hallween sacrifices and Black Masses, that gave momentum to the anti-Halloween movement.

Just one problem ...

It was all lies.

Cornerstone Magazine debunked all of the dramatic claims in the Satan Seller, which after attempting to defend himself for years, Warnke later admitted he had fabricated. The Cornerstone investigation was released in 1991, but the anti-Hallowween movement was off and running. And it hasn't slowed down yet -- Hell Houses and other "alternative" events dot the evangelical landscape to this day.

My response as a relatively conservative evangelical believer in Christ to this fear-based approach can be summed up in 2 words:

Happy Halloween.

This is the story of the sinful woman who comes directly to Simon the Pharisee's house, who has invited Jesus to dinner. She interrupts their meeting, and extravagantly worships Jesus, wetting his feet with her hair, drying them with her hair, and pouring expensive perfume over them

Simon is scandalized, and attempts to "correct" the Lord for allowing "this kind of woman" to touch him.

In many ways, I am bent to be Simon. But I need to be Jesus, offering grace and mercy to all.

The gospel is not moralism. The gospel is not judgment.

Read this quote, and you'll realize who little has changed in the millenia and a half that has passed since an anonymous hermit wrote this in the desert.
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"The prophets wrote books, then came our fathers who put them into practice. Those who came after them learnt them by heart. Then came the present generation, who have written them out and put them in their window seats without ever using them."

As performed by the seminal Christian punk band One Bad Pig:
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No major gain without no loss
No resurrection without no cross
No golden crown without no nails
Trade my life for a love that never fails