GroshLink

Did you know that Christmas was one of the most searched for words in 2005? Check this Urbana resource link out if you're looking for a brief piece summarizing What is Christmas? The article includes links to Luke 1-2 in several languages and a brief description of the origin of Christmas. . . . Note:  I too return to John 1:1-5, 14 as a reminder of where Christmas fits to the bigger story of God's work in the creation

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God and the Word was with God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

The extremists talk about religion - and spew messages of hate. Religious moderates must denounce this bigotry and reclaim Scripture as the shared document of all. When flamethrowers hold up Scripture and say, "It says this," moderates must hold up the same text say, "Yes, but it also says this." The Bible is simply too important to the history of Western civilization - and to vital to its future - to be ceded to one side in the debate over values.

Teach, Don't Preach, the Bible picks up from where the author perceives Yesterday's ruling by a federal judge that intelligent design cannot be taught in biology classes in a Pennsylvania public school district leaves off. The author advocates placing the teaching of the Bible back where it belongs in our schools: not in the science laboratory, but in its proper historical and literary context.

I agree. And I would go further by stating that we should also become familiar with the religious works and understandings which inform other cultures in our world. Why? Because, despite the teachings of our largely agnostic/atheistic educational subculture, the supernatural and the religious matter as the Other in various forms speak through circumstances, family, friendships and shape the frameworks of understanding which guide individuals, subcultures, nations.

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Just became aware of Narnia Teen Site. Lots of good stuff no matter your age. Pass it along

Also, check out some great interviews at C. S. Lewis and InterVarsity and some superb book resources from IVP.

Although Some fans exhausted by manic 'Kong' and The footprint of 'Kong' looms smaller, King Kong came out about double that of this weekend's Narnia's take, aided by the turnout of several of my friends who seemed, for the most part, to enjoy their experience. But The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe's opening was stronger than Kong's by about 15 million. So is this important?

My enthusiasm for Narnia at our recent GCF Christmas party, led one student to ask if Disney paid me while another was ready to go to theatre. Our conversation at GCF focused on Father Christmas' gift giving (which by the way was very vocationally driven) AND Peter, Susan, and Lucy's receiving (which by the way was applied by faith in a difficult context). But as I commented earlier, I find myself drawn to the true myth glimpsed in and through Lewis' work and not the film itself. The more I reflect upon it, the books provide much more opportunity for the imagination to wander at leisure and wrestle with the material presented, eg., the purpose of gift-giving and the how to embrace gifts given to us by God/others. This is in a large part to the difference in the form of communication, but the film does provide a window for the story to come alive (for some) and invite others into it for the first time . . . maybe even a baptism (or re-direction) of the imagination at an early age.

Came across A Christmas Sunday forces churches to alter schedules with notables including James Bibza, Rock Dillaman, and Stan Ott. In the same Sunday paper, there was a forum regarding The season and its reasons. The titles speak for themselves Merry Christmas, however you celebrate and O, come, all ye faithless

Looking for the time to blog a reaction but at present I'm too immersed in being Christ with the family/people of God. None-the-less the incarnation is not only about being the Light, but also being the Word directed by the Spirit of God every day, in every way . . . so Lord willing, commentary coming later.

Secular Democracy Goes on Trial is a pointed piece which brings attention to concerns related to atheism/secularism as guiding ideologies that churned in my mind as I took part in a CMU faculty discussion group's consideration of Alister McGrath's The Twilight of Atheism with faculty at CMU.

The destructive potential of modern nationalism should not surprise us. Traditional religion hardly played a role in the unprecedented violence of the 20th century, which was largely caused by secular ideologies - Nazism and Communism. Secular nationalism has been known to impose intellectual conformity and suppress dissent even in advanced democratic societies. In America, it was at least partly the fear of being perceived as unpatriotic that held back the freest news media in the world from rigorously questioning the official justification for and conduct of the war in Iraq.

As for traditional religion, outside Saudi Arabia and Iran and Afghanistan under the Taliban it has rarely enjoyed the kind of overwhelming state power that modern nationalism has known. Then why reflexively blame religion for the growth of intolerance and violence? Perhaps, because it is easy - and useful. Certainly, all the talk of Enlightenment, Reformation, a clash of civilizations and the like does help build up ideological smokescreens, obscuring the more complex political and economic battles of the world.

By setting up abstract, simplistic oppositions, the Rushdie affair helped metaphysics cloud the realm of geopolitics. The Pamuk affair, on the other hand, promises to help create intellectual clarity. But this will not only require renouncing the urge to populate the world with religious fanatics, dangerous "others." It will also require a willingness, as Mr. Pamuk has so bravely expressed, to question the myths of our own complacently modern and secular societies.

Grant the people of God the grace to celebrate the incarnation of Christ by not only questioning the myths which so easily entangle us, but also by muddling forth in our call to be the Light of Christ. Fill us with wisdom and tact as we prepare to enter a New Year of Mission, dependent upon God alone!

Disney and friends have encouraged me to help make Narnia #1 again, in the face of "King Kong" and other challengers. I'm not sure how to respond. I have to admit that I was excited about 'Narnia' draws wide following and being an advocate for seeing the film on the front end (note: I even tried the Sweepstakes 1x, but didn't win anything).

But I'm not as sold on making sure the numbers and the money comes in . . . the film speaks to those who will listen. For some this is cracking open the door of God's Presence in their lives and for others it is a part of a longer journey. It is good to have followers of Christ working and having their work express the Light of Christ in the media and arts, but that's not necessarily making it big according to the standards of the world. For me, the conversations around Narnia, Lewis, and finding Joy are of higher value than making the focus of my weekend hitting the theatre with a friend to cash in and keep Narnia on top (for those who haven't heard any conversation check out The Lion, the Witch and the Metaphor).

By-the-way, I'm not expecting a huge showing for King Kong . . .

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Came across this piece on my recent travels . . . Author of false Wikipedia entry apologizes: Tennessee man says false entry on Seigenthaler part of joke on co-worker, wonder how they're getting along with their previous resolutions Wikipedia to tighten editorial rules: Founder says balance needed to prevent vandalism, abuse. I have to admit that I wasn't sure what to make of Wikipedia as a resource. I love the concept, but seems that the shared, open, on-line community is hard to come by considering our broken structures, ideas, and very minds/beings. But I think it is value to keep trying, with the added editorial oversight.

Wonderful People is a piece on my in-laws (with some focus on Theresa's grandparents, but others with generous inclusion) written by Theresa's brother's spouse Kate. A little exaggerated, but you'll get the real picture Enjoy. We'll be heading to the Ginder hotel after the Grosh hotel in just a few weeks :-)

As I said earlier, I came across Henri Blocher when seeking a larger framework for addressing the question of the effects of evil in day-to-day living. I found Evil and the Cross: An Analytical Look at the Problem of Pain a powerful piece for directing my consideration of the topic. So when a friend asked me about theodicy last night, Blocher came right to mind (have I mentioned that I just wrapped up Original Sin: Illuminating the Riddle the other day, quite helpful. More later). Below are some quotes from the conclusion that provide how to live in the presence of evil, by the grace of the cross. How applicable as we reflect upon the incarnation during the Advent season (which this year is enriched my the release of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe).

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Hope the snow melts for our 9:30am Narnia outing tomorrow (a partnership with Bellefield Presbyterian Church, Church of the Ascension, and Shadyside Presbyterian Church), followed by a lunch which will include a presentation by Geneva College's Terry Thomas (one of my Higher Education Professors, fellow Grove City College alum) exploring a follower of Christ's understanding of imagination/wonder, informed by some of Lewis' insights and including a first reaction to the film.

Pray for the interactions at the theatre, the debrief afterward, and future conversations regarding the meaning of Christmas.

Here's a clip from the NY Times Review:

The supposed controversy over the religious content of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" may be overhyped, but a particular question of faith nonetheless hovers around the movie, which was produced by Walden Media and distributed by Disney. Anyone who grew up with the Narnia books is likely to be concerned less with Lewis's beliefs than with the filmmakers' fidelity to his work, which was idiosyncratic and imperfect in ways that may not easily lend themselves to appropriation by the shiny and hyperkinetic machinery of mass visual fantasy. But if a few liberties have been taken here and there, as is inevitable in the transition from page to screen, the spirit of the book is very much intact.

I have a gut reaction, but I do not have the words to articulate it at this time. Maybe the conclusion of Mel Gibson Plans TV Miniseries on Holocaust speaks for itself.

Reached at her home in Newport Beach, Ms. Van Beek, who said she was in her early 80's, said she had not seen Mr. Gibson's last movie because it seemed "too traumatic."

"I don't know him, all I know is he's a staunch Catholic, and the people who saved our lives are Catholic," she said. "I respect everybody's beliefs."

"I know his father doesn't believe in the Holocaust - but maybe when there's money involved, maybe they don't care," she added. "His father will probably say this is not real, this is a novel."

Please continue to pray for our students, faculty, and ministry to find helpful ways of entering the conversation regarding the an appropriate articulation of how beings created as men and women in the image of God can relate in a healthy manner in a public/secular forum such as CMU. A number of articles can be found at http://www.thetartan.org/ (note: type tba film in the search feature on the top right of page) and there will be a campus forum on Sunday, December 11.

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We have Jesus, and he is the bread of life. He supremely satisfies, and satisfies for ever. Praise God! So concludes Ajith Fernando in his Urbana 93 presentation The Bread of Life. As a young follwer of Christ, Ajith's words pointed me in a helpful direction with regard to submitting my whole life to the I AM. When reviewing his talk today, I found the below thoughts on the Fall, of particular interest.

At the fall what Adam and Eve did was to eat of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. They said "we will decide for ourselves what is good and what is evil; we will rule our lives." Instead of trusting in God to save them they trusted in themselves. And we have followed in their train and done the same.

Now the gospel of Jesus says, "God has provided a way of escape for you. Don't try to save yourselves by your good works like Adam and Eve did. Entrust yourself to Jesus. He has done what is necessary to forgive your sin. Stop trying to run your life and entrust yourself to him, and he will save you and give you eternal life."

After you receive eternal life, your will life will be oriented in a different way; you will have a new strength from God, so you can live a new life and work out your faith by deeds of love and holiness.

I wonder whether there is someone here who is still ruling your life. You may be doing a lot of good works, but you are lost, you do not have eternal life. Entrust yourself to Jesus. Tell him that you are going to stop trying to save yourself, and that you wish to avail yourself of what Christ won for you at the Cross. And you will become a new person, a child of God. So that is the work that God requires: we must believe in Jesus.

Father, grant me the grace to entrust my life to you today.

Hey there, Theresa had the opportunity to see The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe this morning. I can't wait to join members of Church of the Ascension for a Saturday showing, but none-the-less I wanted to set appropriate expectations. So Theresa, what's your initial reaction to the film. Did it meet your expectations(note: if you don't want to read the spoilers ignore more)?

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