TailOverTeaKettle.com

It’s sad to hear about Mel Gibson’s arrest for DUI over the weekend, and apparently his tirade against all things Jewish during the traffic stop did take place (Mel Gibson’s anti-Semitic remarks cited in official police report).

I don’t know what Mel really thinks or believes, but he will now have to live with the consequences of his statements, whatever that might be. (Of course it is Hollywood, so I’m not sure there are any real consequences there!)

But the worst part about this to me, is that it brings up the faux-controversy about whether the Passion of the Christ, or the story of the crucifiction in general, is actually anti-Semitic. From that same “news” story:

This is not the first time Gibson has faced accusations of anti-Semitism. Gibson produced, directed and financed “The Passion of the Christ,” which some Jewish leaders said cast Jews as the killers of Jesus. Days before “Passion” was released, Gibson’s father, Hutton Gibson, was quoted as saying the Holocaust was mostly “fiction.”

Elsewhere, it seems that Gibson’s personal statements already being seen as proof of this (h/t to NewsBusters):

“Michael Musto, The Village Voice: “Unfortunately, no, because he works alone, anyway. He doesn’t work with anybody else, and his audience is already deeply anti-Semitic, so they’re deeply proud of him after this.”

Nice. I’m assuming that Mr. Musto is referring to the audience of Passion of the Christ, not Braveheart or Lethal Weapon.

Anti-Semitic comments should be rightfully condemned. However, being Christian and therefore believing in the crucification story is not synonymous with being anti-Semitic. Reducing the crucification story to something as trite as “Jews killed Christ” shows a complete lack of understanding.

Let’s not promote that mistakened thinking again, regardless of Mel Gibson’s beliefs or drunken utterances.

              

[Music]

The King of love my Shepherd is,
Whose goodness faileth never,
I nothing lack if I am His
And He is mine forever.

Where streams of living water flow
My ransomed soul He leadeth,
And where the verdant pastures grow,
With food celestial feedeth.

Perverse and foolish oft I strayed,
But yet in love He sought me,
And on His shoulder gently laid,
And home, rejoicing, brought me.

In death’s dark vale I fear no ill
With Thee, dear Lord, beside me;
Thy rod and staff my comfort still,
Thy cross before to guide me.

Thou spread’st a table in my sight;
Thy unction grace bestoweth;
And O what transport of delight
From Thy pure chalice floweth!

And so through all the length of days
Thy goodness faileth never;
Good Shepherd, may I sing Thy praise
Within Thy house forever.

              

Interesting characterization on reactions to the Da Vinci Code movie in the San Francisco Chronicle today. Listen to the lead in from the story (Some Christians shun, others co-opt ‘Da Vinci’, 14 May 2006) - emphasis mine:

Outrage over “The Da Vinci Code” has spurred some Christian leaders, including the Vatican, to call for a boycott. But its blockbuster success has also triggered some idiosyncratic responses from Christian leaders who say the book’s popularity and the marketing maelstrom around it simply can’t be ignored.

The article goes on to explain that rather than boycotting the movie, some pastors are encouraging people to see the movie in order to learn more about it and also using the publicity to promote a traditional view of Christianity. I found the choice of words “co-opt” and “idiosyncratic”. While I personally don’t have any interest in watching this film, I think that it’s strange to infer that it would be peculiar to suggest such a thing.

While I believe that the book and movie are wrong about the ideas they suggest, it certainly does not mean that one can not learn more about their faith by undestanding these ideas and why they were made.

And as I said yesterday, if you want to learn much more about the Gnostic claims should visit Mark D. Roberts’ writings The Da Vinci Opportunity, How the Popularity of The Da Vinci Code Book and Movie Can Be Helpful to Christians and Others.

The was also an interesting poll included with the artcile. The question:

Do you feel that watching a movie, even if its premise conflicts with your general beliefs, enriches your understanding of the world? And the choices:

1. Yes, it never hurts to look at the world from another point of view, even if its artful propoganda. (31%)
2. No, just as I may not watch, say, a violent movie, I may not want to see a misguided viewpoint. (18%)
3. What, me worry? After all - it’s just a movie — lighten up. (51%)

Actually, I think that a Christian can give any of the answers to the poll and be right. Using this as a way to understand more about your faith can be a good exercise. Deciding that you don’t want to enrich and encourage those who write and promote a story like this is a fair statement to make. And of course, it’s only just a movie.

But I don’t think it’s really fair to simply “lighten up” and ignore this altogether. Popular culture does heavily influence people. It can be a good intellecual exercise to use this book and movie as a context to learn more about true Christianity. But my concern is with the mass audiences who will not go through that process of education and understanding. They may hear the words of the fictional historian Teabing in the movie and treat his words as facts, not imagination. It may just be a movie, but it does carry a message. A sad one.

In the Da Vinci Code world, the wonderful characters attempt solve a mystery and deny the deity of Jesus. And wouldn’t we all really be the losers in that case?

              

Watching Tom Hanks making the rounds of the chat shows means that the movie release of the Da Vinci Code is about to be here, and it will probably be certain to generate huge business.

I will not be watching this movie. Not because I don’t like a good story. And not because I am intolerate. But because this story makes a mockery out of a truth that’s too important to twist.

Writing a book needs a good plot, to be sure. If I were an author, it sure might seem tempting to concoct a story out of the characters in the Bible. And if you’re going to do that… you might as well start with Jesus! It’s going to get a good reaction.

I find it so silly to read about the plagiarism lawsuit which claimed that Brown’s book was a copyright infringement for retelling the same basic theory from another 1982 “non-fiction” book. But that lawsuit was laughable. This same “theory” is a heresy has been around for centuries. Just because it’s old and just because it has been retold in an entertaining way by a successful author does not make it any more true. And in this case, knowing the truth really does matter more than telling an entertaining story.

You must read: Mark D. Roberts: The Da Vinci Opportunity, How the Popularity of The Da Vinci Code Book and Movie Can Be Helpful to Christians and Others.

So go to the movie if you must. But this is not really a good story at all. But as Charlie’s Soapbox point’s out: Some of these stories are old. Some are new. But all misleading and having one thing in common; they all question the divinity of Jesus Christ.

Don’t be tempted to do so by the Da Vinci Code.

              

Good news today from Afganistan. In a face-saving move, it now appears that the Afgan court will free Abdul Rahman, the Christian condemned to death for turning away from Islam. (CNN, Officials: Afghan convert to be freed, 26 March 2006).

Any hopefully the international pressure helped end this situation for the better, although this is such a troubling story.

Coincidentally today I heard from Rev. Gendi Ibrahim Rizk, pastor of the El Saray Church in Alexandria, Egypt. His church is actively involved in helping the community. One of the biggest projects is a home and school for disabled children. And true to form, the school does not just reach out to Christians, but to Muslim children as well. In fact, some 70% of the kids being helped come from Muslim homes. He said that while the school can do much good, providing vocational training, education, and help for their families - the government does not allow the church to evangelize. That would be proselytizing, and is forbidden. But, he said, “They do let us love. And they do let them give us love.”

It’s inspiring to hear from people who risk so much for their religious beliefs, and insist on continuing to bring more good to the world. And even if it is not religious freedom, I am glad that the Egyptian government at least allows their to be some love in their lives.

              

Forty days and forty nights You were fasting in the wild;
forty days and forty nights, tempted and yet undefiled.
Shall not we Your trials share, learn Your discipline of will;
and with You by fast and prayer wrestle with the powers of hell?
So, if Satan, pressing hard, soul and body would destroy;
Christ, Who conquered, be our Guard, give to us the Victor’s joy.
Savior, may we hear Your voice – keep us constant at Your side;
and with You we shall rejoice at the eternal Eastertide.

              

Those of us who walk along this road
do so reluctantly.
Lent is not our favorite time of year.

We’d rather be more active—
planning and scurrying around.
All this is too contemplative to suit us.
Besides, we don’t know what to do
with piousness and prayer.

Perhaps we’re afraid to have time to think,
for thoughts come unbidden.
Perhaps we’re afraid to face our future
knowing our past.

Give us the courage, O God,
to hear Your Word
and to read our living into it.
Give us the trust to know we’re forgiven,
and give us the faith
to take up our lives and walk.

(Ann Weems: Kneeling in Jerusalem)

              

Holy and merciful God, we confess to You and to one another and to the whole communion of saints in heaven and on earth, that we have sinned by our own fault in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone.

We have not loved You with our whole heart and mind and strength.
We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We have not forgiven others as we have been forgiven.
Have mercy on us, O God.

We have not listened to Your call to serve as Christ served us.
We have not been true to the mind of Christ.
We have grieved Your Holy spirit.
Have mercy on us, O God.

We confess to You, O God, all our past unfaithfulness: the pride, hypocrisy and impatience in our lives;
We confess to You, O God.

Our self-indulgent appetites and ways and our wrong dealings with other people;
We confess to You, O God.

Our anger at our own frustration and our envy of those more fortunate than ourselves;
We confess to You, O God.

Our intemperate love of worldly goods and comforts and our dishonesty In daily life and work.
We confess to You, O God.

Our negligence in prayer and worship, and our failure to commend the faith that is in us.
We confess to You, O God .

Accept our repentance, O God, for the wrongs we have done: for our neglect of human need and suffering and indifference to injustice and cruelty.
For all false judgments, for uncharitable thoughts toward others, and for our prejudice and contempt for those who differ from us;
For our waste and pollution of Your creation and our lack of concern for those who come after us;
Accept our repentance, O God.

Restore us, O God, and let Your anger depart from us.
Favorably hear us, O God, for Your mercy is great.

              

So Howard Dean made his quick trip to Plains, GA over the weekend to visit with Jimmy Carter.

Now I believe that Jimmy Carter is a fine man and a devout Christian, and a good example for us all, especially when dealing with fellow man. Except, that is, when it comes to the area of foreign policy. If that wasn’t clear during his term as President, it has been exceedingly clear since then. With such breakthroughs as support for Castro and any other anti-American dictator, he has lost touch with reality. Perhaps it is a delayed reaction to realizing that the Soviet Union did actually exist and could be beat, instead of refusing to admit there was something to confront and do something more than to keep the athletes home from the Olympics. But Carter has been an active ex-President, such as being sent to far-off places to monitor their elections. And no one can deny that he is a Nobel Peace Prize winner (even if, it turns out, to have been awarded less to honor Carter but more to criticize Bush - or as the head of the committee Gunnar Berge was quoted: "With the position Carter has taken on this, it can and must also be seen as criticism of the line the current U.S. administration has taken on Iraq.")

So with Carter’s outspoken opposition to the war in Iraq, it’s no surprise why Howard Dean might want to piggy-back on Carter’s position. Never mind that earlier last week it was pre-emptively reported that Carter would not actually be endorising Dean (quoted as "This meeting is not an endorsement of his candidacy, but an opportunity for me to learn more about the candidate and his views."). But nevertheless, it seemed to be presented as though Dean needed to quickly journey to Georgia for the big announcement. Surely the timing was such that, at least to a casual observer, it would appear that such an endorsement must have been made (certain it’s not reading much into "I think that when the president wants to be helpful, I think that I should give him that opportunity.").

Unfortunately, now we find out that Dean’s oft printed remarks ("When the former president of the United States asks you to go to church with him on the Sunday before caucuses, I think you probably take that up,") weren’t actually quite that true once refuted by Carter himself ("I didn’t invite him, but I’m glad he came… He called me on the phone and said he’d like to come worship… He called me and asked me if it would be all right.") But, let’s not quibble over who called who, or the appearances of deception. We’ll just call it an accidental mis-impression.

No, more important than all this, I believe, was the Sunday School lesson that Carter taught. According to the AJC, it was "Integrity in Everyday Life" - based on Job. What a coincidence, since it was Dean who declared Job his favorite book of the Bible (OK, I know he thought it was in the New Testiment rather than the Old Testiment, but at least let’s give him credit for knowing there is a book of Job). So I hope that he listened even more closely to the lesson.

Integity: Steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code. The state of being unimpaired; soundness. The quality or condition of being whole or undivided; completeness

Good definitions, but sometimes tough to wrap your head around in these days of moral relativity and situational-ethics. Usually we can recognize the trust that we have in someone that’s either in tact or broken more easily than we can define what it is to have ‘integrity’.

Pretty tough stuff for anyone. Especially a politician. Whenever someone rises to the point of national prominance, it’s easy to believe that they could already have long since had their character compromised in order to reach these levels of power. But I contend it’s never too late to start doing the right thing.

I’m no theologian, but here goes the story: Satan submits Job, a righteous man, to a trial, with God’s permission. The first trial is the loss of his goods, but Satan does not attain his purpose, to make Job curse God. Now Satan obtains permission to rob Job of his health, which, according to Satan’s calculations, Job will not tolerate. The teaching in the Scripture that sickness doesn’t come as a result of sin, contradicts the commonly held belief of that culture and time. Three of Job’s friends come and make the case that he has sinned, thereby causing the ‘punishments’ that have happened to him. In yesterday’s lesson, we hear Job maintaining his integrity by refusing to admit that he was guilty of any of the sins his friends accused him of. He refutes, point by point, all of the false accusations: Fraud and injustice, Adultery, Severity toward his servants, Unmercifulness to the poor, Confidence in his wealth, Idolatry, Revenge, Neglect of poor strangers, and Hypocrisy.

Through all of this, the suffering and the false accusations, Job remained steadfast in his belief in God. Encouraged even by his wife to curse God, he did not. And that’s true faith. More that perhaps any man could be expected to do. A heck of a lot more than dealing with criticisms from other candiates seeking the same political office.

A nice reflection on Job from Heartlight.org:

In this unjust world, a life of integrity depends on trusting God even when we don’t understand him. Fact is, we won’t make a single promise or hold a single conviction that won’t be tested; Satan sees to that. The question is, will our courage match our commitment? The secret of maintaining our integrity is to keep our eyes focused beyond our suffering, failures, and pain on the dazzling, glorious greatness of our God, who remains constant and trustworthy. When we can say with all our heart, "God, if I suffer or die, I will suffer or die giving glory to you. If I live, I will live giving glory to you. Either way I’m trusting you," then we are a tiny step closer to the Almighty.

As someone once said: "The one who is a Christian in small things is not a small Christian." How true. I don’t care who the candidate is… I hope that they keep their eye on the big picture. Not simply trying to impress with a few sound bites or pictures. Please don’t break that trust.

              

Patriotism is treated by some as a dirty word. I don’t believe that at all. I submit for your approval a sermon from Rev. Jack W. Baca of The Village Community Presbyterian Church, Rancho Santa Fe, CA. I don’t know how to say it any better:

Just a few days from now our nation will pause a moment to celebrate that day, on July 4, 1776, when our original thirteen colonies declared their independence from the colonial rule of Great Britain and their intention to form a new national union quite unlike anything seen in human history, one based on the fundamental principle of freedom. Some of the nearly 300 million citizens of this land will hardly notice, some will celebrate by shopping at the sales, some will celebrate with cookouts and a few hours of relaxation, and some will mark the historic moment with speeches and fireworks and perhaps even a few moments of serious reflection on what it means to be a citizen of the United States of America.

Several months ago I read somewhere that there is a movement afoot to begin calling this holiday not by the more popular name "the Fourth of July," but by its more historically and descriptively accurate name, "Independence Day." It seems that a disturbingly large percentage of the American citizenry is largely unaware of what this day actually commemorates, and so rather than refer to it by its calendar designation, we had best go back to the older term that reminds us of that revolutionary moment when a handful of the colonies’ leaders signed their names to a document that put them at war with the most powerful nation on earth at that time.

This particular Independence Day finds our nation in perhaps its most patriotic mood since the days of World War II, primarily due to the fact that last September we endured a devastating attack not just on our homeland but also on our national ideals. We are a nation at war, granted, a war unlike any we’ve fought before, but a war nonetheless. Events of the last several months have also revealed that this war for the soul of America is being fought not only against foreign forces. Huge scandals in the business world fueled by sheer criminal greed have shaken our economy and our trust in the great American experiment in free enterprise. And just last week one of the most beloved expressions of our national identity was declared to be unfit and even illegal for schoolchildren to recite. The United States of America, not so much in its physical or legal manifestations, but in its manifestation as a political ideal founded in the desire for "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," seems to be under attack from without and from within.

And so here we gather today in this house of worship, dedicated to the pursuit of spiritual life as we learn to follow Jesus. Today we who profess allegiance to Jesus must deal with the fact that we also live in this nation, at once so strong and yet so fragile. And we must ask ourselves, as have our Christian brothers and sisters throughout the ages past, what does it mean to be both a follower of Jesus and a citizen of a nation? In the midst of so much patriotic ferment and fervor, is there something we can identify and perhaps appropriate for ourselves that can be called a Christian patriotism? I believe that there is.

As we ask that question we must be aware that there are those who absolutely refuse to allow any consideration of a relationship between faith and politics, between the church and the state, between the world of religion and the world of government. And there are those, on the other side of the spectrum, who see essentially no difference between patriotism and faith, who admit no conflict between being a loyal American and being a loyal Christian. There are non-Christians who would build an impenetrable wall between God and country, and there are Christians who think that God and country are the same thing. But it is somewhere between these two poles that you and I must negotiate a serious and thoughtful approach to patriotism that takes into account our religious convictions.

For those who believe that it is never wise to discuss religion and politics, it must come as something of a surprise or a disappointment to recognize that the Bible is an incredibly political book. From the first pages of the book when we hear that the world belongs to God to the last pages of the book that say essentially the same thing, the Bible deals with all the important human questions which are inherently political. Two pivotal passages are those that we’ve read from the book of the Acts of the Apostles and from Paul’s letter to Rome. In the latter passage we have the affirmation that government can be a good thing and should be accepted and supported by those who seek to do good. Good government is a gift from God, we believe. In the former passage we have the opposite sentiment, however, as the first apostles rejected the authority of the government when it came to government’s attempt to silence their proclamation of Jesus. Good government is a gift from God, but sometimes government can oppose God’s purposes, and then it is another matter entirely.

These two passages [Romans 13:1-6, Acts 5:27-29] outline the opposite poles between which a responsible Christian approach to patriotism is lodged. A Christian patriotism supports and encourages the good things that government can provide. A Christian patriotism fights for those ideals of states and nations that embody the ideals of our faith, things like freedom, equality, law and order, and the provision of a context in which people can freely worship. But a Christian patriotism is never blind to the limitations of government, or to the failings of states and nations. A Christian patriotism is always aware that no nation, no matter how lofty its goals or successful its people, is superior to God. A Christian patriotism always understands that our ultimate citizenship lies in a nation not of human making, but in the kingdom of God.

There are some who feel very uncomfortable with any acknowledgement of the nation within the context of worship and faith. I understand the concern. But I must insist that, in the spirit of both Paul as he acknowledged the good government can propagate, and in the spirit of Peter as he refused to allow the state to usurp the proper authority of God, it is an appropriate and Christian thing to do to celebrate our national heritage, especially as that heritage itself acknowledges the higher role of God.

I believe that Christian people should look beyond mere flag waving, and look deeper than blind allegiance, and look with greater wisdom than pure nationalistic pride, and see the deep connections between our faith and our nation. I believe that Christian people should never cease to remind our fellow citizens of the priority of God over country and the ways in which our country indeed is grounded in a love for God. I believe that Christian people should sing with great pride those national songs that recognize that God is marching on in the great quest for freedom, that God is the Author of our liberty, that God has shed his grace on us and that we must pray for God to continue to bless America. I believe that Christian people should remind our nation of the second verse of our national anthem:

O thus be it ever, when free men shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war’s desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heaven-rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just;
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust!"
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Several months ago on a trip to New York City I visited the site of the former World Trade Center. After standing for over an hour at a vantage point high over the site and contemplating the incredible meaning of that place, I walked through the streets of the city. Just a few blocks away is the New York Stock Exchange, and across the street is Federal Hall, where, on April 30, 1789, George Washington gave his first presidential inaugural address. In his speech, Washington said, "there is no truth more thoroughly established than that there exists in the economy and course of nature an indissoluble union between virtue and happiness; between duty and advantage; between the genuine maxims of an honest and magnanimous policy and the solid rewards of public prosperity and felicity; since we ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained; and since the preservation of the sacred fire of liberty and the destiny of the republican model of government are justly considered, perhaps, as deeply, as finally, staked on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people." President Washington knew and acknowledged that the strength of the new nation lay in its dedication to the "rules of order and right" that God himself has established. He ended his address with this line: "I shall take my present leave; but not without resorting once more to the benign Parent of the Human Race in humble supplication that, since He has been pleased to favor the American people with opportunities for deliberating in perfect tranquility, and dispositions for deciding with unparalleled unanimity on a form of government for the security of their union and the advancement of their happiness, so His divine blessing may be equally conspicuous in the enlarged views, the temperate consultations, and the wise measures on which the success of this Government must depend." President Washington understood that whatever good would come of the new nation, would come from the blessing of God.

There is such a thing as a Christian patriotism. It is a patriotism that celebrates the best of our nation while calling our nation always to be better than it is. It is a patriotism that thanks God for our success and prays to God for the will to right what is wrong in our nation so that we will truly be his instrument on earth. It is a patriotism that will never shrink from proclaiming that, whether some believe it or not, we are "one nation, under God," the God whom we have met and whom we even now follow in his son, Jesus Christ.

Amen.