I’m moving!!!

No, I’m not literally moving, but my blog is.  I’ve made the jump from WordPress .com to .org.  You can check my new site out at GottaBeMoreBlog.org.  It’s still a work in progress, but I hope to offer more resources than this current blog allows.

Look Whose Talking: Dr. Christian Cliché #001

Q: Dear Dr. Cliché, I’ve heard how insightful you are and can’t help but ask your advice about a situation I find myself in.  I have a friend whose father just died.  How can I help him?  As a Christian what can I say to make him feel better?

Compassionately,

Curious Kate

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A: You’re asking the right questions, Curious Kate.  Assisting a friend with a close loss can be a sticky thing indeed.  The key, as you have said, is to make sure he feels better by not focusing the conversation on the death. You will know you’ve done your job if he leaves with a tight smile stretched across his face.

Only Two Floors?

If the ever-longed-for Heaven and the ever-dreaded (or currently, ridiculed) Hell exist, then they are in a reality completely separate from our own.  Like a two-story building, we inhabit the first floor, while Heaven and Hell fill the second – the two only rarely dipping into the other’s territory.

But why should there be only two floors?*  The realm of Heaven and Hell would be the supreme ultimate level, or reality, which unites all others, but why should there not be ten or twenty realities?  Or an infinite amount? Imagine a collection of all these realities – resting like little glistening spheres in the palm of a hand.  Some realities are nearer, some farther, to each other (whatever these terms of “distance” mean); some are similar and others are very different.  Maybe not all are fallen as we are (or, are not as of yet, perhaps).

Nonetheless, while this is solely theoretical (I don’t think Scripture can directly justify this) I can’t help but believe that Heaven will be peopled with beings other than, well, just people (this is depicted in Revelation).  If our Lord is as powerful and creative as Scripture teaches then perhaps there are other people or other rational-relational creatures that will be in eternity as well.  Some may be fallen and redeemed and others may never have fallen.  A far-out idea maybe, but I just can’t help but wonder about the unexpected, untold mysteries of heaven.

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* This idea is weaved throughout much of C. S. Lewis’ writings.

Inception: What’s the big Idea?

Yes, I’m one of those people.  I loved Inception at first hello and after several meetings I still enjoy our predictable relationship.  It’s a movie that’s sort of like a good friend; you both find the same subjects important and fascinating even if you don’t draw the same conclusions.

Like most movies Inception is a product of its time. Thus it feels at home in a Petri dish of Postmodernism.*  It’s worldview forces the viewer to ask some hard questions about base-level assumptions, like, “How do I know this life is real?”

How to Win Friends and Influence People

This video is for those who struggle with psycho-socio-bio-emotive interconnections.  Or, put another way; for all those who may be dense about relationships (like myself) here’s a handy-dandy explanation of how it all goes down…supposedly.

A Child’s Eyes

I sat curled up in a cushy chair at Barnes and Noble watching a man and his grandson ride the elevator.  While the grandfather was elsewhere in thought and gaze, his grandson tightly held his hand curiously examining the strange contraption they were ridding.  He wore wonder with a pinch of fear on his face.

Here’s the thing: we become so bored and boring as we age. We look at the world with assumed presumption and loose our wonder and curiosity.  

The Book of Riddle: A Short Story

There’s a strange tension in my life.  Librarians make me nervous, but I love libraries.  Rows and rows of paper and cloth-bound curiosities, each full of streams of words that flow over one page to the next.  Weaving into sentence after sentence.  Merging to form the headwaters of thoughts.  Growing to transport ideas.  And ideas bear weight and consequence.  Ideas alter lives and shake worlds.  You would think that a person who loves libraries would feel warm and at home with someone who works in such an enchanted kingdom.  But I don’t; there’s something rather strange about librarians.

Ahem, I politely cleared my throat hoping to draw his attention away from the huge archaic box of a computer screen he was staring at. Click.  Click. His index finger moved up and down.  Click.  Click. The overhead florescent light hummed.  I felt awkward and shifted my weight.  Click-ity-click-click.  Click. His head cocked sideways and he looked up.  “At last!”  But he was looking straight past me like Auguste Rodin’s Thinker, save without the intelligence in his gaze.  His rumpled eyebrows raised and his head jerked back to the screen.  Click.  Click.  “He doesn’t even know I’m standing here!  O, my word!  This guy came over with that computer on Noah’s ark.  He’s so old he’s deaf and blind!”

Why I don’t believe…

I have a secret. Here goes (deep breath).

I don’t believe in Santa Claus.

There; I said it.  Wow, that felt really good.

My conversion to anti-Clausism came around 5^th grade.  It took me a while to disbelieve; maybe longer than most.  Nonetheless, I’d like share the reasoning behind my massive paradigm shift. (If you still believe in the Big Red One and want to continue believing, then please stop reading now; you won’t after reading this.)  Here are four reasons that convinced me of his Frostiness’ nonexistence.  Thinking back they seem so obvious.

Jesus meets Facebook & Twitter

This fun video plays with the question “What would the nativity story look like in the 21st century?”

I Am Four

“Dude!” my friend exclaimed, “let’s make a pact.”

I smiled uneasily, wondering if my interest would match my friends’s enthusiasm. “Umm, what do you have in mind?”

“Let’s make a pact that each of us will write at least four blog posts over Christmas break! – one per week!  Dude, it will be great!”

Here’s the thing; I like to chew on ideas for a while before I pursue them, especially if that idea involves making a commitment.  So, I pressed the pause button on my friend’s excitement and chewed.

The next day I strolled over to his work cubicle and stuck out my hand. “Dude. I’m in!  …but we need a cool name for our pact.”  (Because everybody who knows anything, knows that every pact has to have a quality name if it’s to be a genuine pact.)  After a couple minutes of deliberation, we decided I Am Four sounded cool enough.

And so here I am.  It’s been quite a while since I last updated my blog, but I’m back with renewal and the drive to write more than four blogs.  I’d like to branch out a little more though – not solely blogging about philosophy and theology, but also including short stories, pictures, art, musings, articles, videos…well, just a wider variety of creative stuff as well.  Here goes!

Are you sure?

Artists triumphantly parade it.  Entertainment evidences it.  Lawyers feud because of it.  Fashion is steered by it.  Thinkers and theologians argue over it.  And we breath each moment in it.

Honestly!

Relationships are like watching a movie.

There are some actions we misinterpret and some we understand perfectly well, though we don’t like them.  Some well-crafted lines we love to quote later and some that are just plain goofy.  Some bothersome scenes that cause us to tremble and some characters that anger us to no end.  Some experiences that touch us deeply and some deeds that repulse us to our core.  And yet, despite the negatives and though we may disagree, we still watch and hope and laugh and cry and fear and dream.

RePost: Your Guide to Contemporary Christian Music

I’ll be back next week with a post of my own, but for now I wanted to share the article below with you.  It’s a very insightful reflection on the current economy of the worship music world.  Enjoy.

Thank you for choosing to worship with us today. If you are from a church that uses traditional hymns, you may be confused. Please take a moment to read through this guide to contemporary Christian music.

In our church you will not hear “How Great Thou Art,” “Wonderful Grace of Jesus,” or “Like a River Glorious.” (Generally, hymns that have words like “Thou” are not used. They are too archaic and are normally replaced by words like “awesome” and “miry clay”). Yes, okay, we may do “Amazing Grace” or “Peace Like a River” at some point, but as a general rule we avoid songs with too many different verses or those that can’t be played easily on guitar and drums.

Control Freaks: A Philosophy of Idolatry

Pieces of wood and gold and rock.

I’ve always been fascinated with why the Israelite nation would constantly and consistently fall into the worship of other gods like these.

In 2 Kings 17:14-17 the author explains the reason for Israel (the northern kingdom) and eventually Judah’s (the southern kingdom) downfall – covenant unfaithfulness.  Aka – idolatry.

True Love – Can it be?

At the university I attend there’s a professor whom nearly every student in the religion department knows and loves.

He’s a short, scruffy fellow with little to no hair north of his eyebrows.  His dress is simple and occasionally makes me smile.  Fashion is of the Devil, according to him.  It is simply one more device to distract students from tithing (er, donating) to his Harley Fund.  He loves warm weather, coffee, the Cubs and his students.  He loves his students.  And they love him.

Dirty Hands

We live in a world where Pain is not just an acquaintance, but an unwanted bed partner. Where Fear is a commonplace thief.  And where Sorrow can be found behind every closed door.

We live in a world where children are stolen.  Where much-needed fathers are absent.  Where valuable ladies sell themselves on street corners.  Where students kill and are killed.  Where church members are only church goers.

The recognition of pain and evil is nothing profound.  These problems are often the very reason why so many disbelieve in God, or at least in a good God.  (But that is a discussion for later).  Once we have wrestled with the “why” question we find ourselves faced with a new question: “How are we going to move forward in this current mangled mess?”

Lockhart: A Short Story

The hotel room was dark and cool.  Other than the sound of the occasional distant car horn and the hum of the air conditioning unit, the room was completely quiet and still.  The sheets made a soft sound as she rolled over and squinted.  The blue glow of the clock read 4:47 AM.  She slowly slid her fingers across the sheets in the darkness beside her; he was gone. 

Honestly Doubting

It’s liberating and painful at the same time – honesty.  Yet, this site was born out of a strong desire to engage life, and you my friend, with honesty and courage.  (Deep breath) So, here goes an honest confession of my struggles with doubt.

Snookersnuck Flies and the Truth

Do you ever find that your days are often spent one step removed from reality?

Here’s an example.  Let’s say you and your friend, Plato, are engaged in an intellectually stimulating conversation about the metaphysical probability that snookersnuck flies exist in a parallel universe (it’s a possibility, right?).  Well, while Plato shares his point of view, you find yourself far from engaged.  In fact you’re actually evaluating his body language, voice tonality and whether he agrees and approves of your thoughts.  Then, hardly realizing it, you adjust your response accordingly – a smile when he laughs, an approving nod that says you understand, a question to show you’re engaged.

Wash, rinse, and repeat the process.  

“Be Perfect as I am Perfect” – Wait. What!?

Here’s the thing.  Apologetics has a very important role in the Church, but I’m going to venture that most people do not come to the Christian faith and then stay with it because of a really sound argument.

I’d say most people come to faith in the God of the Bible because they find, simply, that “it works.”  At the end of the day, what draws me to the Christian worldview is that I think it makes the most sense of this painful world and my crazy life and teaches me a way to live in it – a way that’s rich, genuine and meaningful.

And then we read Matthew 5:48.  “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

What?! 

The Problem with Christian Duty: on second thought…

Since John Piper and I are tighter than stretched duct-tape he has graciously allowed me to record and post his thoughts on duty and love.  …I only wish that were true.

Nonetheless, his thoughts are a great capstone to my first first blog on the problem with Christian duty (click here).  And rightfully so!; he and C.S. Lewis are the ones responsible for aiming me in this direction.

Enjoy.

Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T00199dEipc

Movies and Christians: Oil and Water?

Dan and my conversation started out simple.  We began talking about job prospects and future dreams, then fell over into past video creations and still-emerging ideas, and finally slid into a discussion on the current, sad state of “Christian” entertainment.  We concluded with a minor discussion on the science and art of interpreting unspoken signals in dating (miso-decipher-ology?).

Dan, decided that it was time to put these theories of attraction into action and left to hang out with some lady friends.  I sat down to write this blog.

Dan will probably be married before me.

Repost: “Christians, mark my words…”

The article below is one of the saddest, but truest and most sincere, articles I’ve read.  Ever.  It’s comparable to a modern-day embodiment of Galatians 5:13-15 – and a well-said one at that.

It’ll take 5 minutes.  Give it a read and share your thoughts.

By Abbie Kopf, Columnist
Published: Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Updated: Sunday, August 30, 2009

Because I am a liberal feminist, most people believe that I am a godless heathen. However, I probably know more about modern Christianity than the average person.

The Problem with Christian Duty

Picture this, I’m at my favorite coffee shop (The Muse) after a long Thursday of one frustration after another.  Finally it’s only me, a white-chocolate mocha and a long-anticipated book in my hands.  Suddenly, a friend walks up to my already too small coffee-table and plops down a heavy bag of something with a thud.  She points at a bag labeled ‘cement mix’ and says, “This is a bag of flour.”  In total annoyance and confusion I look at her and then the bag of ill-defined powder and then back to her again.  After studying her intensely I finally lay my book down, “Okay, I trust you.  It’s a bag of flour.”