Things I Think…
1. “Two things came to mind: the beautiful young things of the reformed renaissance have a hard choice to make in the next decade.
You really do kid only yourselves if you think you can be an orthodox Christian and be at the same time cool enough and hip enough to cut it in the wider world.
Frankly, in a couple of years it will not matter how much urban ink you sport, how much fair trade coffee you drink, how many craft brews you can name, how much urban gibberish you spout, how many art house movies you can find that redeemer figure in, and how much money you divert from gospel preaching to social justice: maintaining biblical sexual ethics will be the equivalent in our culture of being a white supremacist.” Carl Trueman
2. We bombed Syria. Time for another round of “prophecy updates”… I wonder if the “prophecy updaters” just recycle what was wrong the last time the countries in the news clashed?
3. The reason “prophecy updates’ draw a crowd is that some Christians are bored with the kingdom and the Gospel…if they were ever interested in the first place…
4. The only way to believe that things are worse than they’ve ever been is to refuse to read or hear any history from any other era…
5. The only things you can post on social media without getting a political response are cat pictures…I may post nothing else from now on…
6. If you decide that one attribute of God is His primary attribute, the rest of your theology will inevitably mirror that choice…
7. “But of this you can be sure. Whenever you find tears in your eyes, especially unexpected tears, it is well to pay the closest attention. They are not only telling you something about the secret of who you are, but more often than not God is speaking to you through them of the mystery of where you have come from and is summoning you to where, if your soul is to be saved, you should go to next.” Frederick Buechner
8. A lot of people think Buechner is a heretic…which makes me like him all the more…
9. The difference between my online and offline personas is a shameful thing…it’s easy to be pious when people aren’t involved. I should seek to be the person I pretend to be online…some of you need to reverse that order…
10. I wonder if I’m insensitive because I’ve never had even the slightest confusion about my gender…
phoenixpreacher@gmail.com
I think “prophesy update” is an oxymoron.
I appreciate your Buechner quote…have found that to be true; as well as your follow-up quip. He is one who convinced me that my evangelical experience of Christ was like boating on a canal…when in reality, life in Christ is more like sailing on the ocean.
I believe gender confusion is a real thing in a very small percentage of people. There are, however, many who have jumped on this as the latest trend to gain attention/admiration. Those posers do more harm to genuinely gender-confused souls than those who deny it exists.
Truman’s quote is worthy of consideration over a long tall one in a bar with my tattooed friends… 😉
“I think “prophesy update” is an oxymoron.”
I think you’re right!
Not sure why some people are attracted to Revelation/prophecy/end times stuff. A part of me thinks these folk are just bored with the simple Gospel as well.
I think in general some people are just bored in life and need something exciting…like how some meteorologists chase storms, how some people just have to sky dive or bungee jump, or how some people have to drive 95 mph all the time on the freeways around Atlanta.
Ha! “Prophecy Update”! = Oxymoron….right on!
Dan,
It took less than fifteen minutes after the announcement of the bombing for the rapture articles to start…
I don’t know Michael, these pictures may make you re-think you’re #5. 🙂
http://justsomething.co/21-hilarious-photos-of-cats-looking-like-donald-trump/
KevinH,
One of my friends posted one of those on my Facebook…I stand corrected. 🙂
And I stand to correct my grammar – *your*, not you’re. 🙂
I can prophesy with some accuracy that we are going to go broke if we keep firing off all those expensive missiles …
I don’t know that things are worse than they’ve ever been, but i do think that the world’s powers have more ability to destroy this planet than they’ve ever had and, who knows, some evil genius with a computer might do it all by himself, sooo…. I guess i take comfort of a sort in Biblical prophesy…. I’d rather God did it .. ? if it has to happen
Thinking on the things here… Thinking… Thinking….
#5 My FB friends are polite. But, I still self censure, to avoid offense. Some are Muslim, others are very conservative Republican Evangelicals. The rest are a sort of eclectic mix.
Michael (#4),
No surprise there!
Back when I used to peruse the local Christian bookstores, I remember EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. something happened in the Middle East, the prophecy/charismatic section of the store gave birth to myriad books about how this was THE sign of the end…
Of course all, and I mean ALL, of those books ended up in the discount bin within 6 months…
#8 – Thank God for Frederick Buechner. His writings have kept my faith afloat in doubting times (which are often).
I really like the Buechner quote, and I’m not even sure I understand all of it.
#2 and 3 – I picture a dozen or so prophecy wonks piling out of a clown car.
I agree that “unexpected tears” are sometimes indicative of a pain or sorrow that needs to be addressed at some deep personal level. Of course some would cry heresy if we were ever guilty of “meditating” on such things as David did throughout the Psalms. However, to most believers it is sufficient to maintain the Christian personna of false happiness.
Tom Stipe…”maintaining the persona of Christian happiness”. Amen…How much I needed to go to church Sunday for prayer, but sadly, my lack of energy and desire to maintain that persona kept me home.
Here is my take on prophecy updates. 2,000 yrs ago Jesus Christ fulfilled all biblical prophecies. Except for the future return of Jesus all prophecies are not only fulfilled by him but in him. All things are yes and amen in Jesus.
Captain Kevin (13)…that was great!
#13–nite crew worthy. 🙂
Stipe sighting!
MLD–agreed.
Did somebody say, “Night Crew?!!!”
Oh how I miss that.
Tom Stipe, great to see you here!!
Capt.
Did you see the new pirate movie?
It’s rated arrrrh.
I’m sure #10 will soon qualify you with some kind of disorder…
I like my Updates. It makes me think we are watching the God fulfill his promises in real time.
But I can do without people giving me copies of The Harbinger… :-/
#7 – One of the things I appreciate about Buechner is his emphasis on recognizing God in the ordinary….. in our everyday lives:
“Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery it is. In the boredom and pain of it, no less than in the excitement and gladness: touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it, because in the last analysis all moments are key moments, and life itself is grace.”
“I think I’ll send out a correction and apology about my failed prediction regarding the end times scenario I previously published…”
…said no prophecy wonk ever.
I don’t listen to the ones who predict things.
Just the ones who’ve been saying Ooooh, looky here! for the last 30 years.
descended,
You do realize that every prophecy update to this point has been “fake news'”…
I’m pretty sure that studying God according to attributes is a dated and flawed perspective. Isn’t it centered on Greek categories? The Greeks of course had gods for every category. The God of the Bible is revealed in historical action and progressive clarity. Thus we blur the vision if we are not Christo-centric in our description. Did he not come to reveal the Father?
That being said I understand and largely agree with your critique of myopic vision and the caricatured outcome.
I once had an undisclosed momentary puberty-based anxiety, other than that as per #10: MeToo.
(un)Phobic Dread
BD,
Amen to #27…and 28… 🙂
Linnea, so sorry you are not feeling up to par….I’m praying for you. ((((Hugs)))))
dusty…thank you for your prayers…((((Hugs)))) to you, too!