Unfinished Christianity

Jamie and I just finished watching an amazing documentary titled God Grew Tired of Us. It is a heart-wrenching film about the lost Christian boys of Sudan, the thousands of small boys fleeing the massacres of the Muslim government now becoming adults and moving to the United States to pursue a new life and new opportunities...even eventually understanding that life here is not all they expected.

The title stems from the comments of one of the boys who during the 15 year escape from Sudan asked himself if "God grew tired of us" and eventually Jesus would come back to make it all right. It's a commentary on redemption, hope and disappointment. If anything, it confirmed for me that the reality we create through our actions here on earth is a reflection of God's model love for us which we are to mirror towards each other...and lack of it is nothing short of hell on earth. Check out the trailer below:

An earlier entry posted here generated over 100 comments so I closed the comments there in order to continue the creation conversation here with a fresh start. As I mentioned in that last comment, Adam was evidently set apart from the rest of the creation; there was something unique about him in that he was created in God's image. The meta-narrative is not about genetics, likeness, the number of creation days, 24 hour days, etc..it's about order out of chaos, and awareness out of darkness.

At TV 2008 I briefly mentioned "ideal time" which Eliade also called "mythical age" - a time when gods walked the earth, a time of myths, of a "perfect" state of existence. This sacred time is the time humanity longs to return to; most, if not all religions or creation stories mention it as having been spoiled by chaos or evil. They also have an eschatology that will bring them back to that ideal, mythical time. That is why most civilizations out there which have not been influences by modern western cultures do not operate as much under a linear time as they do under a cyclical understanding of time. See: Welcome to Kona Jack's. A quick quote:

Ultimately Eliade observed the intellectual snobbism of the modern religions towards traditional ritual practices. He wrote: “In certain highly evolved societies, the intellectual élites progressively detach themselves from the patterns of traditional religion. The periodical resanctification of cosmic time then proves useless and without meaning….”[9] Returning to and reliving the Biblical narrative seems to have little to do with modern Christianity; instead we have intellectualized the story to a level nearly impossible to understand by most people and cultures. So then, can that sort story be relevant at all?
...
I believe that God is teaching us to reaffirm the sacredness of the Biblical narrative through the retelling of a story that can be relevant to all cultures, all people of all backgrounds. The story is not a doctrinal one; it is a personal one. It is a story of creation, falleness, restoration, fulfillment and renewal, both personal and universal; it is also the story of Israel, a story of creation, falleness, restoration, fulfillment and renewal. Through the work of Christ and the centrality of his Gospel, the cosmogony of mankind has become the very fulfillment of the personal and cyclical kind eschatology we should participate in as Christians. This is the eschatology which allows us to be partners with God in the renewing of the world into “new heavens and a new earth.” So then, “what is the power of us being a part of the narrative?”

There is power in the story; as Amie pointed out, Adam having been created "in God's image" has value in the context of eschatological restoration. "Metanoia" is not just about renewing our minds, but it leads to renewing the entire creation in Christ. Relationships, creativity, art, theology, science...they all flow from people's minds. Whether or not these minds have been renewed by the power of Christ will dictate what comes out of them. The entire creation is subject to Christ's power, and we serve as "a kingdom and priests to our God." (Revelation 5:10)

Versatube lighting, green-screen HD shooting, Adobe After Effects and 3d modeling; just a few elements of the Christmas Service of the Fellowship Church in Grapevine, TX.

Kent Shaffer from Church Relevance posted an entry on the creative process involved in the production and post-production work. It blows my mind; you can read the entire entry involving the technical details here: http://www.pacehartfield.com/...

Watch a partial clip below (it includes some of the final motion graphics work):


Trans Siberian in Service from FC Post on Vimeo.

I was up until 12 last night installing this 100 pound monster; Kohler's double-bowl cast iron white enamel kitchen sink. Was it worth it? Time will tell.

This is the first track from Big Fil's album titled Via De La Sheckel. This is the band in which Rob Bell was the vocalist before he became "famous." I got to see Big Fil at Cedarville College in 1993 I think when they were handing out copies of the album.

Ladies and gents, without further ado, I give you Rob Bell, circa 1996:

There is a new comment moderation system in place here on the Planet Preterist blogs, mostly due to the activities of Roderick Edwards and his psychotic insistence that he has the right to stalk, harass and interfere in anyone's website, blog or private business at any time of day or night.

Unless you have a blog account here on Planet Preterist, all your comments will go through a moderation process, which means that the comments will not show up until they are approved for posting by one of the administrators. It is unfortunate that this had to happen, but you can thank the lollipop guild for that.

Blog members who are already logged in will not be subject to moderation, and their comments will show up right away.

I made yet another hit list of "bad dudes" this time created by Kurt Simmons. Kurt didn't have a problem asking me to endorse his book when it was published a couple of years ago but now that sales are down, the bridge no longer matters...so flame away!! :)

Recently, Kurt created a new page here where he is attempting to "expose what folks believe" - and where he claims that I am a "universalist" because, according to his evidence, I asked two rhetorical questions and made a statement about the universal nature of Christ's sacrifice. For being an advocate himself, Kurt apparently is not aware of the term "devil's advocate" in which one takes a skeptical view of a well-established position in order to better understand opinions, challenge the status quo, pursue empirical avenues in order to better understand truth, etc. Tsk, tsk, tsk...

Interestingly, Kurt never e-mailed me or called me to inquire where I stand on any of these issues; which makes me wonder if he asked any of the other people on the list where they stand on these issues or if he is just making stuff up. So here are my views, as presented by myself:

Corporate Body View - (I do not subscribe to this view)
Covenantal Heavens & Earth - (I do not subscribe to this view)
Baptism for the Dead - (I do not subscribe to this view; in fact I wrote several articles about baptism and Kurt would stand to benefit from reading them carefully)
Universalism - (I do not subscribe to this view; if Kurt bothered to read anything I wrote or listen to my session presented last week, he would know I am a devout Annihilationist)
Covenantal Genesis Creation - (my mind is not made up)
Local Flood - (my mind is not made up)

Kurt, do your homework my friend. I assure you that when and if I decide to be a "universalist" you will be the first to know. Somehow you seem to be under the impression that I need your permission to do so. Also, I am not sure what you think you will accomplish with this half-ass list you seem to be making up as you go. Is that your attempt to intimidate people into agreeing with you?

I almost forgot. You are using Eastern Orthodox icons throughout your website...which makes you, Kurt Simmons, inextricably linked to apokatastasis. Remind me to laugh when I get a chance. :)

Update: Jim Kessler sent me a great picture of Tony Soprano with a caption that fits this blog entry. Check it out:

If you are not yet in bed, you need to go see Ben Stein's new movie Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. The movie is easily in the top 10 best movies I have ever seen; it is a documentary on intelligent design and the attack on "intelligent" scientists in academia. It also features an interview of Dawkins (by Stein) and some amazing insight into the connection between darwinism, eugenics and Nazism.

Take your entire family, your church...and all your friends :)

This is the Spicy Beef Noodle Soup from the China Cottage. It will set your brains on fire...