Category Archives: disturbing

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In general “we” is a good term to use. I like to think that my general thought patterns happen in a “we” context. I value community, I believe it’s core to how God has created us to live and breathe…but I’ve created a problem, and it is not of noble origins.

Apparently, there are many times where I say “we” when I should be saying “me”. I’ve heard this from my wife today which reminded me of when I heard it from a friend a while back Apparently I say things like “yeah we really suck at that” when in reality I’m no good and I’m just including that person with me. Other times I say “we’ve really got to get better about picking up after ourseves (you can insert any chore here)” what has happened with my wife is that me saying that ends up communicating to her that SHE needs to start picking up after herself. Because I wouldn’t include her in the mix unless I was thinking that she was needing to do it. I guess that most people speak about themselves, “I need to start taking out the trash every day” or “I’m really terrible at this game!” I’d like to think that I do this because of my intense love of community…but the sad reality is that probably deep down it makes me feel better to be miserable with someone else. Not too noble eh?

I guess we’ll all need to work on this.

What the…

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Am I right in saying that this song is celebrating the US dropping an atom bomb on Japan? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I understand that one may be able to justify us bombing Japan because it saved more lives or something like that. But, I don’t know, if you think that it seems like you’d still be grieved about the death…especially if you’re a Christ follower!

Christian and Torture

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If you’re a Christ follower then you’ve got to be seriously worried about the valid statement made by CNN in a recent report:

The more often Americans go to church, the more likely they are to support the torture of suspected terrorists, according to a new survey.More than half of people who attend services at least once a week — 54 percent — said the use of torture against suspected terrorists is “often” or “sometimes” justified. Only 42 percent of people who “seldom or never” go to services agreed, according to the analysis released Wednesday by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

Something has gone wrong. We’ve somehow missed something crucial to the gospel message. Brian McClaren sites these statisitics:

Consider this question: Is it ever justifiable to intentionally target innocent civilians in order to achieve other political or military ends? 86, 81, and 80% of Pakistani, Bangladeshi, and Iranian citizens say never. But only 46% of Americans say never! In contrast to the 6% of Americans who say civilian attacks are completely justified, only 2% of Iranians or Lebanese would agree, and only 4% of Saudis.

I sure am glad we’re a Christian nation! I feel like we should write one of those coffee table books that says “you know you’re not a Christian nation if…” and we could have the first page say “…54% of your citizens want to kill innocent people to acheive their ends.” The second page could say: “…a majority of the Christians in your Christian nation are cool with torture.”

This grieves me terribly. May Gods mercy lead us to repentance, renewal, and an uprising to practice the pressence of God in our world.

The Holy Land Experience

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I nearly forked over the $30 to go to the Holy Land Experience when I was in Florida. Seriously, who wouldn’t want to travel to Florida in order to spend a day at the Wilderness Tabernacle exhibit:

The wondrous and mysterious Wilderness Tabernacle was the heart of worship for the children of Israel as they wandered in the desert following their exodus from Egyptian captivity. Watch the High Priest and experience a live presentation that explains the intricate details of the tabernacle and its prescribed rituals.

Or how about the opportunity to allow your children to view the crucifixion and resurrection at a live presentation done every 30 minutes at the Calvary’s Garden Tomb Exhibit:

Follow the Via Dolorosa, the road on which Christ carried the cross, to Calvary’s Garden Tomb. Spend time resting, praying, or reflecting on the meaning and significance of the empty tomb. Atop the hill stand the crosses of Golgotha, where Jesus was crucified and died for the sins of the world.

Or, if you’re lucky you can take a picture with Moses and his famous stone tablets!

Ok, so here’s my real thoughts with all the sarcasm taken out. This whole Holy Land Experience theme park really disturbs me. I’m imagining the God who fashioned a whip to kick out those who looked to exploit the temple by turning it into a market place. I’m imagining the God who chose to leave heaven in order to live like a poor, enslaved, and eventually tortured human being. I’m imagining the God who was creative enough to make naked mole rats and giraffes. And, well, none of those things seem to fit with the Holy Land Experience. A market place, turning the crucifixion into an attraction, and creativity that is more like poor mimicry than anything else.

Something seems off. I think I’d take my kids to Disneyworld…even if Disney is The Man.

Is Andy Bernard a Member of the Church of Christ?

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This hits a little too close to my church heritage.