Joy Among the Statues

I went today to see The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader.  Overall the film was good and worth seeing.  But we must keep in mind the attempt of some to downplay the theological significance of the Chronicles depicted in film.  (There are, as I am sure you are well-aware, plenty of reviews on the movie.  My attempt here is not to critique the current movie, but to draw upon other theological truths found in the Chronicles.)

The Bells of Peace

When is it permissible to listen to Christmas music?  Ronna is ready to listen to Christmas music by November 1.  In fact, I think it is a miracle that she does wait until November 1.  However, every year, I say to Ronna, "Give Thanksgiving a chance!"  I don't care to listen to Christmas music until the day after Thanksgiving at the earliest.  But when the time comes to listen to Christmas music, there are two carols I could hear again and again and of which I never get tired!

Anchors Away!

Anyone familiar with Boy Scouts knows that in order to be awarded the rank of Eagle Scout, one must complete (at the time of my Eagle Scout) twenty-one merit badges and a number of them were Eagle-required badges.  These badges included First Aid, Citizenship in the Community/Nation/World, Communications, Personal Finance, Family Life, and the list continues.  A boy was also required to earn a certain number of elective merit badges.  If my memory is accurate, some of the elective badges I earned were basket-weaving, shotgun-shooting, firemanship, and small boat sailing.

Advent

This small (maybe “tiny” is the appropriate adjective) corner of the blogosphere has been titled Reflections.  Typically when we think of reflecting, we think of taking time and energy to think about and process aspects of life and events within life that have passed.  Therefore, the term Reflections, we would reckon, carries with it the implication of time. We mark the passing of time with devices such as watches and clocks, essentials on our desks such as calendars and planners, and electronics in our hands such as a BlackBerry or other “smartphone.”  The passing of time and the reflection on time gone by is important enough to us in the Western World that we mark this passing every moment of every day.

It has been a while.......

As a teenager oh the joy that flooded my soul when I was handed the keys to the family car and the given the instructions, "Son, be careful!"  I was now a legal and licensed driver.  I could come and go and do as I saw fit.  Or, at least, so I thought.

Frankenstein & God?

Last weekend Ronna and I attend the High School production of Frankenstein: A New Musical.  This musical interpretation of Frankenstein is based on the classic novel by Mary Shelley.  We attended the musical to see several of our students who were involved in the production.  I must say that we were blown away with the level of professionalism and skill in the arena of theatrical arts possessed by our students.  The music was beautiful and the story was compelling….and theological.

Blue Notes

Donald Miller is right. Jazz music does not resolve. During my junior and senior years of high school I was in the Jazz Ensemble. As a junior I played in the trumpet section and as a senior I moved to the rhythm section where I played electric bass guitar. It was here, though...

Reflections

I finished my seminary degree (M.Div.) at Gardner-Webb University in December, 2009. During the course of study there were several classes which required the writing of theological reflections. During my last semester...