Cutting?

Michael Jr. reacts to the Idea of Circumcision

All Saints Church, Loose

http://www.allsaintsloose.org.uk/

I found this today.  The church is All Saints Church, Loose in the village of Loose, 2 miles (3 kilometers) south of Maidstone,  County Kent, England.  They are a bible believing evangelical Anglican church.  The population of the village is 3500.  The church is affiliated with the South East Gospel Partnership.

Film Comment: October Baby

Really powerful movies are rarely about what they seem to be on the surface.  October Baby (2012) is one of those films.  You absolutely MUST see this film if you possibly can.

A distressingly large number of “Christian” films suffer from weak writing, amateurish acting, poor pacing, and an obvious dependence on one primary set.  You will find none of that in October Baby.

Hannah Lawson (actress Rachel Hendrix) is a freshman in college who suddenly discovers that her entire life is “a lie.”  She learns that she was adopted and that her birth was as the result of a failed abortion.  As the film progresses, Hannah learns even more secrets about her parents, a nurse, a male friend, and her birth mother.

Abortion is the catalyst for the events in the film, but, while the film is clearly pro-life (The tagline is “Every life is beautiful.”), what the film is actually about is the redeeming power of forgiveness.   Hannah, a Baptist, learns from a Roman Catholic priest that because God has forgiven us, we have the power to forgive.

Watch during the credits for a shocking revelation about the actress, Shari Rigby, who portrayed the birth mother.  God works in individual lives in ways we could never have anticipated.

Again, as a Christian, you absolutely MUST see this film.  If you read the film chat rooms you will find equal numbers of people who were absolutely amazed by the film and others, who clearly do not understand, and who post snarky sarcastic comments.  The New York Times film critic, Jeannette Catsoulis, says that the film has "ugliness at its core," while Penny Young Nance, the Chief Executive Officer of Concerned Women for America says that it should be called "Hallelujah Baby."

Michael Jr. on Prayer as a New Christian

Michael is always right on target.  New Christians need not worry that their prayers are not eloquent.  God knows our hearts and is not impressed by the literary quality of our prayers.

The Rapid Growth of Christianity

From a very small group in a dusty rural community, the Good News of Christianity rapidly exploded upon the world.  The numbers below are very rough estimates but are almost universally agreed to be accurate.

ca 30 AD                        ca 50

ca 100 Ad                       several thousand

1^st  Century                     500,000 to 1,000,000

2^nd Century                    2,000,000

10^th Century                   50,000,000

15^th Century                   100,000,000

18^th Century                   200,000,000

19^th Century                   400,000,000

Today                             2,200,000,000

Many of the modern 2.2 billion may be only nominally Christian, but if only 10% are actually Christian, then we number 220,000,000.  The actual percentage is probably higher than 10%.

60,000 Page Views!

This blog has now had over 60,000 visitors and on some days has over 1000 page views.  I thank all of you for your interest and, with the Lord's help, plan to continue the blog for many more years.

Silent Night Sung By Enya

Enya (Eithne Ni Bhrainain, b. 1961, Ireland) is a singer, instrumentalist, and songwriter.  Here she sings "Silent Night" in Irish.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KTfL6_eiWo

Christmas Music on Various Musical Instruments

Christmas related songs on various musical instruments.   Some are secular songs.

The Glass Harp is a collection of crystal glasses filled with amounts of water calibrated to produce musical tones when a wetted finger is rubbed along the rim.  Differing amounts of water in identical crystal glasses produce different tones.  Sometimes the size of the glasses is also varied.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRPA7YtHWO8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZyt0wgapX8

The steel drum is a musical instrument produced by hammering sections of a steel plate into differing depths and thicknesses so that when the plate is struck, the vibrations from the plate produce musical notes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_89uqdNsK3w

The mbira and the kalimba are African musical instruments which are usually classified as lamellophones.   They are constructed of long thin parallel "plates" (usually metal) which are fixed at one end of a board with a resonator box attached.  When the plates are depressed and then released, they vibrate.

Carol of the Bells on the Mbira

“What Child is This?” played on the kalimba

A family garage band consisting of a singer, drums, and electric bass guitar performing "The Little Drummer Boy."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OA9BH3JALaA

A fiddle and a guitar and a dog, playing “Carol of the Bells”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGvrET8vj9Q

“Carol of the Bells” on The Big Piano.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMoaJnDyv40

O, Christmas Tree on the theremin, an early electronic instrument.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnL2ArrEm_o

“Joy to the World” on the Moog Synthesizer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SEMIPtukVw

"Carol of the Bells" on cellos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9GtPX6c_kg

"Oh, Holy Night" on the harpsichord.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sg0jsdt6SYE

Six French Noels on the clavichord.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdjGK4Qywds

This one is simply amazing.  Iphones and Ipads used by the Northpoint Baptists Church iBand.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPJ75Bcyk2o

And this one is the most amazing of all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvHJVbud4vU

Extrabiblical Evidences of Biblical Persons, Places, and/or Events: Caesar Augustus

Gaius Octavius (b. 63 BC/BCE, Italy – d. 14 AD/CE), the adopted son and heir of Julius Caesar,  is mentioned only once in the Bible, at Luke 2:1.  Gaius is best known as Augustus Caesar or Caesar Augustus.  His full imperial title was Imperator Gaius Iulius Caesar Octavianus Divi Filius Augustus.  By birth he was Julius Casear’s great nephew.

Forgiveness

"Forgiveness is a strange thing.  It can sometimes be easier to forgive enemies than our friends.  It can be hardest of all to forgive people we love.  Like all of life's important coping skills, the ability to forgive and the capacity to let go of resentments most likely take root very early in our lives."  Fred Roger ("Mr. Rogers")

Film Comment: El Evangelista

You say that you want to see a Christian comedy about a professional drug gang enforcer/assassin?  Well, here it is.

Pablo (J. Salome Martinez) always pauses before killing his victims to allow them the chance to make their peace with God.  Whether or not they do, he then fills them with bullets.  Surprisingly, though the film is extremely violent, there is no cursing.

Pablo and his assistant are bumbling hit men who eventually are able to carry out their assignments.  There is a lot of running around and shooting and killing.

The turning point for Pablo comes when he is assigned by his boss to assassinate a Pentecostal pastor who is interfering with the local drug trade.  Pablo becomes a Christian and turns his life around.  This is where the real problem with El Evangelista (2006) lies.

Pablo moves to another area and begins his happy new life.  What about his probably vengeful former associates?  What about his responsibility for numerous murders?  Did he have a responsibility to self-report to the authorities?  Should he have given his knowledge of the drug trade to the police?  Is repentance without confession really repentance?  Can we escape temporal consequences for our actions?

This is a Spanish language film with English subtitles.

Christmas Recipes

Here is a link to a group of Christmas recipes at Yummly.com.

http://www.yummly.com/recipes?q=christmas

Written Georgian Was Created So That The Bible Could Be Read

Georgian is an ancient language spoken today by about 6 to 7 million people, with about 4 million of these in the country of Georgia.

There was no written form until 326 AD/CE, when the conversion of the Georgian aristocracy to Christianity led to a desire for a Georgian translation of the Bible. The written form of Georgian is similar in construction and function to Aramaic, the literary language of pagan Georgia.

The oldest surviving literary work in Georgian is the "Martyrdom of the Holy Queen Shushanik" (Georgian: წამებაჲ წმიდისა შუშანიკისი დედოფლისაჲ, Tsamebay tsmidisa Shushanikisi dedoplisay) by Iakob Tsurtaveli, from the 5th century AD.

Film Comment: The Next One

Adrienne Barbeau portrays a widow who, along with her son, rescues a man named Glenn (Kier Dullea) who washes up on a beach in Greece.  The man does not remember who he is but seems to have extraordinary mystical powers.  He slowly begins to remember his identity.

Glenn is a time travelling alien from a future when everyone is a clone.  In Glenn’s time, everyone is equal and all are perfect, there is no sin or evil.  Glenn’s brother arrived on Earth two thousand years before!  In the original version of this 1984 film, the final reveal comes when Glenn recognizes his brother, Jesus, hanging on the cross in a church’s stained glass window.

Down through the centuries, people have tried repeatedly to make Jesus into someone, anyone, other than who He was.  To some he was an ethical genius, or a prophet, a deranged man, a man possessed by the Cosmic Christ Spirit, a fraud, the leader of a homosexual group, a revolutionary, a rabbi, an Ascended Master, or even a total fiction who never existed.

Adrienne Barbeau has said that the only reason she appeared in The Next One (1984) was to get a free trip to Greece. 

Still Singing At Age 103

George Beverly “Bev” Shea was born in Canada in 1909 and began singing with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association in the 1940’s.  He turned 103 on Wednesday 1 February 2012 and he still has not stopped singing about his Lord.

http://www.wnd.com/2012/04/george-beverly-shea-singing-gods-praise-at-103/

Christians

At some time during their lives, the following people have publicly identified themselves as Christian.   Inclusion in this list does not indicate approval or disapproval of the person, of their orthodoxy or lack of it, or of their actions.  Some of those listed may surprise you.  Readers are encouraged to suggest persons who should be included on this list.  This is a recurring segment in this blog.

Robert Patrick Ellison: (b. 1942, Ireland) Roman Catholic Bishop of Banjul, The Gambia

Mvemba a Nzinga: (b. ca 1582, Kongo – d. 1663, aka: Afonso I; Nzinga Mbemeba Affonso) A Kongo chieftain who became the Manikongo in 1506, reigning as Afonso I.

Solomon Tilewa Johnson: (b. 1954, The Gambia) Anglican Bishop of The Gambia.

George Beverly Shea: (b. 1909, Canada) Vocalist, evangelist.  Associated with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association since the 1940’s.

Luciano Pavarotti: (b. 1935, Italy – d. 2007) Operatic tenor, humanitarian.  Roman Catholic.

The Lord's Prayer in Spanish

An Atheist's Definition of Christianity

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2B5BemlHdIM

Our Need for Surgery

"The Church today is infected with worldliness and sin, and anemic from spiritual hemorrhage because we have not been willing to let God operate on us and cut away the things of self, the world and the flesh." M. R. DeHaan

Martin Ralph DeHaan (b. 1891, Michigan, USA - d. 1965) physician, radio preacher, author.

Burning Your Eyeballs

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/04/eye-sunburn-anderson-cooper-temporary-blindness_n_2239020.html

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505263_162-57557493/anderson-cooper-on-temporary-blindness-cnn-shakeup/

“It turns out I have sunburned my eyeballs.  I had no idea you could do this.” Anderson Cooper.  Cooper had a case of photokeratitis, commonly called “snow blindness, ” in which ultraviolet light which reflects off snow, sand, or water painfully urns the cornea.  The damage is not permanent.  It is why snow skiers wear sunglasses.  The thing I noticed here was his statement, “I had no idea you could do this.”

The experienced Portuguese sailors should have thought to remind Cooper to wear sunglasses.or a brimmed hat or both.  Cooper was not an absolute water novice but he had never heard of the condition.  That did not stop the ultraviolet radiation from burning his eyes.  There is a legal principle: “Ignorance of the law is no excuse.”

The application of this occurrence for Christians is this: there are pitfalls and dangers which come as part of being a Christian.  They are there and are operative whether or not the believer is aware of them.  Also, there are pleasures and privileges which come as part of being a Christian. They, also, are there and are operative whether or not the believer is aware of them.  

It is incumbent upon experienced Christians to teach new believers these things.  And new believers need to study to learn these things.  The place where they will learn these things is in the Bible.

A Text in the Middle of the Night

Last night at one-thirty AM my wife's smartphone received a text message.  We have someone in the hospital so we burst out of bed to read the message.  It was a text of an internet scam which has been active for over a year.  The text says that the receiver has won $1000 and to get the money one needs only go to a link provided in the text.  The link loads a virus which steals a person's private personal information (passwords, account numbers, social security number, etc) from a computer or smartphone.
This is a criminal activity.

Attacks on personal information are rampant.  In just the same way, Christians are constantly under attack from The Evil One and his servants, especially when they are distracted by life's worries or worse, are spiritually asleep.  It is not currently popular to think of Satan as a person but the Bible clearly does.  Most people, including Christians, do not need his help in falling short of the mark.

Remember, if you resist the devil in the power of the Lord, the devil will run away! James 4:7.

Christian Search Engines

The following three links contain a list of Christian search engines prepared by Michael Wong.

http://www.search-engines-2.com/topic/christian-search-engines.html

http://www.search-engines-2.com/topic/christian-search-engines-2.html

http://www.search-engines-2.com/topic/christian-search-engines-3.html

Christians

At some time during their lives, the following people have publicly identified themselves as Christian.   Inclusion in this list does not indicate approval or disapproval of the person, of their orthodoxy or lack of it, or of their actions.  Some of those listed may surprise you.  Readers are encouraged to suggest persons who should be included on this list.  This is a recurring segment in this blog.

Elizabeth Cranach: Daughter of Augustin Cranach (d. 1595), a German painter.  Elizabeth married Polykarp Leyser the Elder.

Polykarp Leyser the Elder: (b. 1552, Germany – d. 1610) Lutheran theologian and university professor.

Polykarp Leyser II: (b. 1586, Germany – d. 1633) Lutheran theologian and university professor.  Son of Polykarp Leyser the Elder.

Polykarp Leyser III: (b. 1656, Germany – d. 1725) Lutheran theologian, orientalist, and university professor. Grandson of Polykarp Leyser the Elder and a nephew of Polykarp Leyser II.

Polykarp Leyser IV: (b. 1690, Germany – d. 1728) Lutheran theologian, physician, lawyer, historian, and university professor.  Son of Polykarp Leyser III.

Unredeemed Human Nature

“People will go to any length to take what you have or harm you in some way just because they don’t have what you have.”  Thomas Jones, former running back for the National Football League team, The Kansas City Chiefs.

I am convinced that Thomas is correct.  Below the thin layer of civilization which we maintain, the animal still lives.  The horrors portrayed in the films, No Blade of Grass  (1970) and Time of the Wolf (2003), represent the truth.  Our only hope is in transformation of our selves into new creations in The Lord.

Are You Oversaved?

Michael Jr. reacts to people so otherworldy that they forget that they live here, right now.

Hello Kyrgyzstan!

Здравствуйте, Кыргызстан! Добро пожаловать в группу читателей от ста шестнадцати других стран, которые также посетите этот блог. Я надеюсь, вы найдете некоторые из должностей, полезно или смысл.

"Перевести эту страницу" гаджет непосредственно над "Всего страниц" Счетчик имеет возможность переводить английский текст этого блога непосредственно на многих других языках, включая русский.


Сто семнадцать стран: Албания, Алжир, Антигуа и Барбуда, Аргентина, Армения, Аруба, Австралия, Австрия, Азербайджан, Бахрейн, Бангладеш, Беларусь, Бельгия, Белиз, Ботсвана, Бразилия, Болгария, Канада, Каймановы острова, Чили, Китай , Чешская Республика, Колумбия, Конго, Коста-Рика, Хорватия, Кипр, Чешская Республика, Дания, Доминиканская Республика, Эквадор, Египет, Сальвадор, Эстония, Эфиопия, Финляндия, Франция, Грузия, Германия, Габон, Гана, Греция, Гонконг , Венгрия, Исландия, Индия, Индонезия, Иран, Ирак, Ирландия, Израиль, Италия, Кот-д'Ивуар, Ямайка, Япония, Иордания, Кампучии, Кения, Кувейт, Кыргызстан, Лаос, Латвия, Лесото, Ливан, Литва, Люксембург, Македония, Малайзия, Мали, Мальта, Мексика, Молдова, Марокко, Мьянма, Намибия, Нидерланды, Новая Каледония, Новая Зеландия, Нигерия, Норвегия, Пакистан, Панама, Парагвай, Перу, Филиппины, Польша, Португалия, Россия, Румыния, Сент-Китс и Невис, Саудовская Аравия, Сенегал, Сербия, Сингапур, Словакия, Словения, Южная Африка, Южная Корея, Испания, Шри-Ланка, Судан, Суринам, Швеция, Швейцария, Тайвань, Танзания, Таиланд, Тринидад и Тобаго, Тунис, Турция, Уганда , Украина, Объединенные Арабские Эмираты, Соединенное Королевство, Соединенные Штаты, Венесуэла, Вьетнам, Йемен, Зимбабве.

Coming Home Late

“The minister was waiting up for his teenaged daughter who was out far past her curfew.  When she finally came home around 3:00 a.m. he bellowed, ‘Good morning, child of the devil!’

The girl answered respectfully, ‘Good morning, Father.’”

From the Big Book of Church Jokes, published by Barbour Publishing, Inc. Used by permission.

Recognizing the Scriptures

From yesterday’s post, Paul said: “Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.”  Acts 13:35

Paul here did not give a page and verse citation for the quotation.  Those would not exist for centuries.  Instead, Paul assumed that his listeners would be familiar with the verse.  Jewish men of Paul’s day could be expected to know the passage, having spent every Sabbath listening to scripture reading in the synagogue.

The books (actually the scrolls) of Scripture did not have names but were known by the first few words of the first sentence.  The listeners had heard the readings so many times that they knew the book and the passage being disvcussed as soon as the words were spoken.

How many modern Christians (or Jews) can identify the book and passage from which a random scripture text is taken? 

Messsianic Prophecies: His Body Will Not Decay

“For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.” Psalm 16:10

David is speaking here in the Psalm and many then and now believed that the “holy one” of whom he speaks is David himself.  Holy as in the sense of holiness and being a saint, set apart from the world and dedicated to God.

Hell can be interpreted as separation from God.

Peter, in Acts 2:27, reinterprets the passage as a reference to Jesus’ resurrection.  Most conservative Christians now see this verse as a messianic prophecy.

“Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.” Acts 2:27

Paul also used the verse in the same way.

“Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.”  Acts 13:35

To Flow By Alongside

παραρυῶμεν

Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. Hebrews 2:1

The New American Standard Bible translates it as “so that we do not drift away from it.”

The American Standard version: “lest haply we drift away from them .”

Young’s Literal Translation comes the closest: “lest we may glide aside”

Some see the verb as passive, unmoving as we are “drifted by,” with the idea of one floating in the water as a boat passes by.  The idea is that the lapsed believer does not move along with the group, but instead, stays behind.

παρα (3844) beside, by the side of, alongside of,

ρέω (verb, 4482) to flow

παραρρέω (verb, 3901) gradually drift away, to flow by alongside

http://biblesuite.com/greek/pararuo_men_3901.htm

Circumcise Baby Boys on the Eighth Day

“And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.” Genesis 17:12

There is a legitimate scientific reason why circumcision is safest for a male child on the eighth day after birth, but Moses could not possibly have known or understood this fact.   The science of Moses’ day was not sufficiently advanced to have discovered this fact.  Those who believe the Bible account know that God led Moses to give this instruction.

At birth, the infant’s immune system has just begun to work and the child could not yet successfully fight off infection.  Luckily, for the first week of life, the child carries antibodies in his blood which have been provided by the mother.  The mother’s antibodies begin to decline in number after one week,

The infant’s ability to form clots begins to develop about day five and reaches its peak at day eight.  If any surgery is to be performed, day eight would be the ideal day.  On day eight, the infant is best able to prevent infection and to close and seal a surgical wound.  Moses could have only known this in one of two ways: 1. Trial and error, with a large number of dead babies, or 2.  He was told.

The science behind this was not elucidated until the Twentieth Century.  In 1935, Dr. Carl Peter Henrik Dam (1895 - 1976), while doing research on cholesterol metabolism in baby chicks at the University of Copenhagen, discovered Vitamin K, a vital factor in the coagulation mechanism.  He initially called it the Koagulationsvitamin.  He received the 1943 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for his work on the subject.

The American pediatrician, Luther Emmett Holt (1855 – 1924) discovered that infants were especially susceptible to bleeding on days two through five, but had nearly 100% clotting ability by day eight.

………………………………………….

The Jewish Kabbalists, in their numerology, say that the eighth day has a mystical meaning.  The number seven has the meaning of “nature,” or “finite.”   The number eight carries the meaning of “super-rational,” or “infinite.”

Awe

"A religious person makes the decision not to be awed by anyone but G-d."  Rabbi Schmuel "Schmuley" Boteach, b. 1966, California, USA.  Rabbi Boteach is a Chabad Lubavitcher.  Orthodox Jews do not write the name of God, instead substituting G-d.

Film Comment: The Twilight Series

The Twilight series of films is based on a highly successful five book young adult romance fantasy series by American author Stephenie Meyer.  The films are:

Twilight (2008)

Twilight: New Moon (2009)

Twilight: Eclipse (2010)

Twilight: Breaking Dawn, Part 1 (2011)

Twilight: Breaking Dawn, Part 2 (2012)

To date (25 November 2012) the series has grossed over $2,500,000,000 worldwide.  The basic plot is this: Bella, a lonely teenager, displaced by divorce to a boring small town on the United States northwest coast, becomes attracted to a strange but handsome boy at her high school.  She eventually comes to realize just how strange he is.

Edward is a member of a vampire family which lives in one location until it becomes difficult to disguise the fact that they are not aging.  The “family” members are not biologically related but were collected together by the patriarch, whom they recognize as their father.  The family long ago stopped hunting humans for food and lives off the blood of forest animals.

Edward proves to be a sensitive and protective boyfriend for Bella and he strongly holds to his Nineteenth Century values of sexual abstinence and chaste love until marriage.  That presents the problem: a vampire cannot marry a human.  Because he loves her, Edward is reluctant to “turn” Bella though she begs him to.  He realizes that he would be damning her to become a monster like himself.

Stephenie Meyer, the writer of the Twilight novels, is a Mormon and some believe this is the origin of the series’ emphasis on family and chastity.  Feminists have complained that the novels and films present Bella as a helpless female, with her life revolving around her man.  Edward must continually protect Bella from other vampires (and werewolves!) who disapprove of their relationship.  Feminists also object to the relationship’s violence, as Bella is seriously injured when she and Edward eventually do consummate their relationship.

Bella eventually becomes a powerful vampire with a beautiful half-human half-vampire child.

I see all these things, but what I really see is perhaps a message which Meyer did not originally intend.  The message is this:  to succeed, to really get what you want in this world, you must submit.  Adapt to the world.  Adjust what you believe.  Buy into the system, and you may find love, success, wealth, and maybe even power.  The darkness is very seductive.